Beijing bar replaces free Wi-Fi with DeepSeek AI tokens for guests

A Beijing bar has started giving its customers free DeepSeek tokens — the units normally paid for when using AI services — instead of just Wi-Fi. The venue's owner compares the offering to complimentary internet access, according to AFP.

The establishment, named AGI Bar, is located in Zhongguancun, a district often called China's Silicon Valley. It opened last summer and positions itself as a meeting point for developers, startup founders and investors. The bar is equipped with two NVIDIA DGX Spark workstations running DeepSeek V4 Flash locally, so the owner pays no per-use fees to the model's developer. Visitors get access directly through the venue's own infrastructure.

"Bars usually provide free Wi-Fi through routers, and I will provide free tokens," says owner Song De.

The venue is built entirely around an AI theme: walls are decorated with logos of Chinese AI labs, a screen streams current job openings, and the menu features playful names referencing the tech hype. The signature drink, called AGI, is a glass filled almost entirely with beer foam. A similar bar reportedly operates in Shanghai as well.

Song De is an independent AI developer and one of many users who are moving away from feature-heavy, expensive models such as Anthropic's Fable 5 toward compact alternatives like V4 Flash, which he also promotes at his establishment. The new generation of affordable and lightweight AI models has made it possible for small businesses to offer such services without significant costs, and AGI Bar is among the first venues to turn this into a customer perk. The move reflects a broader trend in China, where AI access is gradually becoming a standard amenity for visitors, much like charging stations or free coffee. For now, the bar remains a niche experiment, but its owner believes that similar offers could spread to other hospitality venues as local AI infrastructure becomes cheaper and easier to deploy.