A deliberate choice, not caution
During the 2026 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit, Sohu founder, chairman of the board of directors, and chief executive officer Zhang Chaoyang admitted that he had 'missed the mobile internet train,' according to China Blue News and Yicai, cited by IT之家. The statement is significant because it comes from an entrepreneur who led one of China's first portals and who today is justifying a strategy that appears to stand apart from the wave of investment in artificial intelligence.
Limited resources and an alternative strategy
Zhang rejected the idea that Sohu's attitude toward AI is simple caution: he called it 'a lucid choice.' The reason given is economic: precisely because the company did not ride the mobile transition, it has fewer resources, while large models require huge investments. The reported conclusion is direct: 'we cannot afford it.'
In terms of vision, Zhang urged people not to be entirely swept along by the clamor around AI, arguing that profit opportunities are found 'precisely in places to which no one pays attention.' It is a position that does not reject the technology itself, but shifts attention from large computing infrastructures to the less-trodden margins of the market.
The material also links this argument to the product: with the spread of algorithms across the Chinese web, according to Zhang some users would like to obtain information through social interaction among real people. He clarified that he is not opposed to algorithms, but that he has not chosen to pursue algorithmic recommendation in product design. The point is new relative to the dominant debate, which focuses almost solely on the scale of AI investment.
What remains to be verified
The available information is limited to public statements at an event. No amounts, spending plans, specific products, or financial results are indicated that would make it possible to assess the impact of the strategy. Nor is the phenomenon of demand for real social interaction cited by Zhang quantified. It therefore remains to be verified how Sohu concretely intends to translate this approach into offerings and revenue, and what the actual scale of the described phenomenon is.
The news has informational value above all as a stance: a veteran founder acknowledges a delay and uses it to justify an alternative positioning with respect to the AI race. However, no elements emerge to establish whether this is a lasting strategy or a rationalization of resource scarcity.
