Not a token effort: beer meets artificial intelligence at bar in China’s capital
Drinks, music, vibes … what else can a bar offer to attract customers? One in China’s capital, Beijing, is betting on unlimited access to artificial intelligence models. The AGI Bar in the Zhongguancun tech hub, known as China’s Silicon Valley, was packed with laptop-using customers on a recent night. One of the first things many did after ordering a drink was to connect to the in-house Wi-fi and…
A bar in Beijing's Zhongguancun tech hub, known as the AGI Bar, is attracting customers with an innovative twist: unlimited access to artificial intelligence models. Located in China's Silicon Valley, the bar was bustling with laptop-using patrons on a recent evening. Upon ordering a drink, many customers connected to the bar's in-house Wi-fi and configured an AI agent to access the free tokens provided.
Manager Yang Yuan explained that the AGI Bar, which opened in June of the previous year, offers customers free tokens for any AI model as long as they purchase a drink and install a plug-in on their laptop to access the bar's AI agent. The establishment boasts over a dozen drinks, with its most popular AGI beer priced at just 9.9 yuan (approximately US$1.47).
The bar also runs DeepSeek-V4-Flash locally on two Nvidia DGX Spark computers, enabling customers to access the model without any charges. When inquired about the monthly token consumption, Yang Yuan did not disclose an exact figure, stating that the costs were covered by the bar's owner.
The AGI Bar's walls are adorned with logos and merchandise from prominent Chinese AI companies, including Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings, which owns The South China Morning Post. Situated near leading Chinese AI firms such as Moonshot AI and DeepSeek, as well as renowned universities like Tsinghua and Peking, the bar has become a gathering spot for developers and AI enthusiasts.
Events ranging from vibe-coding meet-ups to offline sessions hosted by AI professionals have transformed the bar into more than just a conventional establishment. Yang Yuan noted that since implementing the free token offer, many AI enthusiasts and industry professionals have frequented the bar specifically for this unique offering. In a March post on the Dazhong Dianping restaurant review site, a customer referred to the AGI Bar as a "bar with futuristic vibes" and a "prime example of the fusion of beverages and AI."
Written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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