China's push to win the AI race is as much about spying as it is about building better tech, and that's a warning sign for U.S. chipmakers and AI firms trying to protect their edge.

• China can't yet build the best AI chips on its own, so it's reportedly used a spy to get close to someone who can, showing how far it will go to catch up.
• The bigger fight is over how AI gets sold: closed-source companies treat AI like a paid product they can shut off or raise prices on anytime, while open-source makers give away the model for anyone to run and control for free.
• Companies pick a side based on how they make money, open-source if you want AI treated like electricity or the internet, something everyone can access, closed-source if you want to keep charging for it.
• Whoever wins the AI race could end up deciding which of these two models becomes the global standard.

Outlook: Expect continued espionage attempts and a widening split between open and closed AI business models as the U.S. and China compete for dominance.