DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot, has taken the tech world by storm, climbing to the top of Apple Store’s download charts and shaking up the global AI race. Developed by a Hangzhou-based start-up, the AI chatbot has astonished industry experts with its ability to rival leading U.S. competitors like ChatGPT and Meta’s Llama, signaling a major challenge to American dominance in the fast-growing AI sector.
A Top Performer
DeepSeek’s capabilities have drawn widespread attention, with users praising its ability to write song lyrics, solve complex problems, draft personal development plans, and even create recipes based on available ingredients. The chatbot supports multiple languages, though it excels in English and Chinese.
Despite its impressive functionality, DeepSeek shares some limitations with other Chinese-made AI systems, particularly when addressing sensitive topics like Chinese President Xi Jinping or policies in Xinjiang. In such cases, the chatbot politely avoids the subject, saying, “Let’s talk about something else.”
Industry insiders are impressed by the chatbot’s performance. “DeepSeek is the top-performing, or roughly on par with the best American models,” Alexandr Wang, CEO of Scale AI, told CNBC.
What’s even more surprising is the budget behind DeepSeek. While U.S. tech giants have poured billions into AI development, DeepSeek’s creators spent only $5.6 million to build their model — a fraction of the resources used by its Western counterparts.
AI’s ‘Sputnik Moment’
The success of DeepSeek has raised alarms in the tech industry, with some experts calling it a “Sputnik moment” for AI — referencing the Soviet Union’s 1957 satellite launch that spurred the Cold War space race.
“This is one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs I’ve ever seen,” venture capitalist Marc Andreessen wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “DeepSeek R1 is a wake-up call for America.”
The chatbot’s launch has already had a ripple effect on global markets. Shares in major U.S. and Japanese tech firms have dipped as the industry grapples with DeepSeek’s unexpected rise. Japanese company SoftBank, which recently announced a $500 billion investment in U.S. AI infrastructure, saw its stock drop by more than 8% on Monday.
DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot, has taken the tech world by storm, climbing to the top of Apple Store’s download charts
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Open-Source Model Sets It Apart
Unlike its American rivals, which use proprietary large-language models (LLMs), DeepSeek operates as an open-source platform. This means anyone can access its code, examine its workings, and even modify it.
Jim Fan, a senior research manager at Nvidia, highlighted this unique approach. “We are living in a timeline where a non-U.S. company is keeping the original mission of OpenAI alive — truly open, frontier research that empowers all,” he wrote on X.
DeepSeek claims it “tops the leaderboard among open-source models” and rivals even the most advanced closed-source systems globally.
A New Era for Chinese AI
DeepSeek’s rapid rise underscores China’s growing influence in artificial intelligence. The Chinese government has pledged to lead the world in AI technology by 2030, with plans to invest tens of billions in the sector.
Last week, DeepSeek’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, joined a symposium with Chinese Premier Li Qiang, further highlighting the chatbot’s significance. On Chinese social media platform Weibo, related hashtags about DeepSeek have attracted tens of millions of views, making it a viral sensation.
“DeepSeek’s success shows that Chinese firms are beginning to overcome the barriers placed in their path,” Wang from Scale AI noted.
With its groundbreaking capabilities and unique approach, DeepSeek has firmly established itself as a global contender, challenging the dominance of U.S. tech giants and signaling a new chapter in the AI race.