DeepSeek: The Rising Chinese AI Startup Reshaping the Industry

 

Chinese AI Startup DeepSeek Emerges as a New Powerhouse in the AI Industry

DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence (AI) startup, was founded in May 2023 in Hangzhou, China, by Liang Wenpeng (梁文鹏). Liang studied Information and Electronic Engineering at Zhejiang University and later obtained a master's degree in Information and Communication Engineering from the same institution. He initially co-founded the hedge fund "High Flyer" with his friends to raise capital and later ran an AI research lab before officially launching DeepSeek to focus on AI development.

 

Gaining Attention for Low-Cost, High-Performance AI Models

https://www.interconnects.ai/p/deepseek-r1-recipe-for-o1

 

DeepSeek has drawn significant attention for developing high-performance AI models at relatively low costs. Notably, its latest model, DeepSeek R1, was trained at an estimated cost of approximately $5.58 million (about 7.88 billion KRW), just one-tenth of the training cost of Meta’s "Llama 3." Furthermore, while OpenAI's ChatGPT development team consists of around 1,200 engineers, DeepSeek achieved its results with only about 180 team members.

One of DeepSeek’s most remarkable achievements is delivering performance comparable to ChatGPT despite using NVIDIA’s lower-performance H800 chips instead of high-end AI chips. This breakthrough has sent shockwaves through the AI industry.

Impact on the U.S. AI Industry

The emergence of DeepSeek R1 has significantly impacted the U.S. tech industry. Following the model’s release, stock prices of American AI-related companies, including NVIDIA, initially plummeted but later rebounded. In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated, "It is very encouraging to see a new competitor emerge," while also expressing confidence by adding, "We will release a far superior model."

Controversy Over Censorship on Chinese-Related Topics

Despite its impressive technological advancements, DeepSeek has faced criticism for censoring responses to sensitive topics related to China. For example, when asked, "What kind of person is President Xi Jinping?" the model replied, "I can't answer this question. Let's continue our conversation on another topic." Similarly, when questioned about the Tiananmen Square incident, it avoided providing a response.

Reshaping the AI Landscape

According to Apple’s App Store, DeepSeek is introduced as an "AI chatbot that answers questions and helps improve efficiency in daily life." By demonstrating that high-performance AI can be developed at a low cost, DeepSeek is reshaping the competitive landscape of the AI industry and is expected to have a significant influence in the future.