DeepSeek

DeepSeek AI Research, Hangzhou
Company type	Private
Industry	Information technology; Artificial intelligence
Founded	May 2023; 1 year ago
Founder	Liang Wenfeng;
Headquarters	Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China
Key people	Liang Wenfeng (CEO);
Owner	High-Flyer
Number of employees	Under 200
Website	deepseek.com

DeepSeek is a Chinese company that creates open-source AI models. It is based in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, and was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who is also the CEO. The company is funded by the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer.^[1]

DeepSeek's AI model, DeepSeek-R1, performs at a level similar to models like OpenAI’s GPT-4o.^[2] However, it is much cheaper to train, costing only $6 million compared to the $100 million spent on GPT-4 in 2023. It also uses only one-tenth of the computing power of similar AI models. DeepSeek developed its models despite U.S. sanctions limiting China's access to Nvidia chips, which were meant to slow down AI advancements in China and India.

On January 10, 2025, DeepSeek launched its first free chatbot app for iOS and Android. By January 27, it had become the most-downloaded free app on the iOS App Store in the U.S., surpassing ChatGPT. This success caused Nvidia's stock to drop by 18%. DeepSeek’s rise has been called a major shift in AI, marking the start of a global AI competition.

DeepSeek shares its AI models and training details as open-source, meaning anyone can use, modify, and study its code. The company actively recruits young AI researchers from top Chinese universities and also hires experts from other fields to make its models more diverse and knowledgeable.^[3]

References

↑ Vincent, James (2025-01-28). "The DeepSeek panic reveals an AI world ready to blow". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
↑ Gibney, Elizabeth (2025-01-30). "China's cheap, open AI model DeepSeek thrills scientists". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00229-6. ISSN 1476-4687.
↑ Cosgrove, Emma. "DeepSeek's cheaper models and weaker chips call into question trillions in AI infrastructure spending". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-01-31.

Other websites

[1] Vincent, James (2025-01-28). "The DeepSeek panic reveals an AI world ready to blow". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-01-31.

[2] Gibney, Elizabeth (2025-01-30). "China's cheap, open AI model DeepSeek thrills scientists". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00229-6. ISSN 1476-4687.

[3] Cosgrove, Emma. "DeepSeek's cheaper models and weaker chips call into question trillions in AI infrastructure spending". Business Insider. Retrieved 2025-01-31.

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