DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng and headquartered in Hangzhou. Backed by hedge fund High-Flyer, the company has distinguished itself in the global AI scene by developing open-source, large-scale language models that offer performance comparable to Western competitors with significantly lower investment.
On January 20, 2025, DeepSeek released the DeepSeek-R1 model, which quickly gained attention for its advanced capabilities in tasks such as mathematics, programming, and natural language inference. The model achieved 97% accuracy in solving mathematical problems and outperformed 96% of humans in programming tests. A notable feature of DeepSeek-R1 is its open source code, allowing users and companies to modify and integrate the model into other tools, in addition to being completely free.
The success of DeepSeek-R1 has had a significant impact on the global technology market. Shares of American technology companies have suffered sharp declines, with the Nasdaq Composite Index losing $1 trillion in market value. Nvidia, for example, has seen its shares fall 17%. US President Donald Trump has described the event as a “wake-up call” for American industry, emphasizing the need for the country to focus fully on competing to win the race for artificial intelligence.
DeepSeek’s approach stands out for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Using “pure reinforcement learning” techniques, similar to those employed by Google DeepMind’s AlphaZero, the company has achieved breakthrough performance with fewer resources compared to its American rivals. Furthermore, DeepSeek has opted for an open-source strategy, making its models freely available, which could democratize access to AI and encourage innovation in the field.
However, concerns have been raised about potential censorship in response to politically sensitive questions, such as human rights issues and Taiwan, with the model aligning with Chinese state-sanctioned views. Despite these concerns, DeepSeek continues to be a disruptive force in the global AI landscape, challenging the dominance of Western tech giants and redefining the rules of the game.