AI and alcohol have three main similarities, according to Beijing bar owner Song De: hallucinations, bubbles and distillation. As AI enthusiasm sweeps across China, Song is hoping his bar can ride that wave.
Last year he opened AGI Bar in Zhongguancun, the high-tech neighbourhood of Beijing's Haidian district, named after the concept of artificial general intelligence – where systems powered by AI surpass human intelligence.
What began as a quirky idea is now something of a hub for the city's AI developers, investors and students, as reported by Reuters.
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"You'll see people sitting around a table coming from different labs, competing companies, and different universities, all chatting about industry trends right here," the news agency quoted Song, an independent AI developer in his thirties, as saying.
Right In The Heart Of China's AI Ecosystem
The bar is on Zhongguancun's Inno Way, a startup street a stone's throw from top Chinese universities, Tsinghua and Peking, which produce much of China's leading AI talent, and the offices of major Chinese and Western tech firms, including DeepSeek and Microsoft.
It's become something of a community fixture in its own right, having hosted parties for Chinese AI labs including Z.ai, alongside regular developer seminars, open-source AI symposiums and university research meetups.
"This is a very unique and advantageous location," Song reportedly said. "Haidian (district) has always been the heart of scientific research in China. Internet companies are clustered here, and the tech atmosphere, industry investments, and VC incubators provide massive momentum for the sector."
Step inside, and the walls tell their own story: the bar is plastered with logos, colourful figurines and merchandise from China's leading AI firms. Just outside the entrance stands the giant brass gong that Z.ai struck when it listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January, now a proud fixture at the bar's doorstep.
A Symbol Of China's Broader AI Push
In many ways, the bar mirrors China's broader ambitions to leverage AI as a way to transform its economy into a high-tech powerhouse, which has given a push that has seen retirees adopt AI agents and coding education become mainstream even for primary school children.
The push has already created some degree of job disruption, while leading universities across the country are already integrating AI into their curriculum.
DeepSeek Tokens, On The House
The bar's signature drink is reportedly called AGI and costs 9.9 yuan (about $1.50) for a glass of foam.
But the real draw for many patrons is digital, not liquid: customers can connect to the bar's AI agent over WiFi and receive free, unlimited DeepSeek tokens for coding, powered by two Nvidia DGX Spark computers on display inside.
Even the bar's registered Chinese name carries a clever double meaning that translates to "knowledge distillation," a playful nod to both liquor distillation and the increasingly talked-about concept of AI model distillation.
Bar To Add Humanoid Robots Soon
While the bar still relies on human staff, Song has already automated much of its backend operations like inventory, reservations, utilities and membership systems, using an AI agent to run things behind the scenes.
Song now hopes to expand its floor space in Beijing this year, given the demand the bar has seen, and eventually bring in humanoid robots, another emblem of China's innovation push, to serve drinks to customers.
He has already taken the concept beyond the capital, opening a Shanghai branch back in June. "We've hooked up all our lighting, software, and hardware in the store to APIs for AI processing. We're trying not to waste human labour on tedious, unnecessary operational tasks," he was quoted as saying.
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That said, much like many of China's open-weight AI models, which users can access at a fraction of the cost of proprietary US alternatives, Song's bar is yet to turn a profit.
"The bar is completely losing money," he said. "The amount of drinks given away is definitely 10 times more than what's sold."
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