DeepSeek is a Chinese tech startup that recently released an artificial intelligence service called R1, which has garnered attention for its performance on par with U.S. competitors like ChatGPT while requiring less computing power for training. This development has caused significant shifts in the U.S. tech market, leading to stock price fluctuations and reactions from figures like President Donald Trump and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
DeepSeek’s AI product allows users to ask questions in Chinese or English and receive text responses. The company was founded in Hangzhou, China, in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who also founded a hedge fund called High-Flyer. The market reacted strongly to DeepSeek’s emergence, with tech stocks dropping on Monday but recovering slightly the following day. Nvidia, a key player in AI chip production, saw a significant drop in stock price.
Notable tech figures like Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and entrepreneur Marc Andreessen have praised DeepSeek’s advancements, while OpenAI CEO Sam Altman initially criticized the company but later acknowledged the quality of the new R1 model. Concerns around DeepSeek include data privacy and censorship, as the Chinese service may store user data subject to surveillance and provide opinions on politically sensitive topics.
U.S. politicians have expressed varying reactions to DeepSeek, with President Trump viewing it as a wake-up call for American tech companies. Rep. John Moolenaar called for action to slow down DeepSeek, while Sen. Mark Warner highlighted the need for more regulation around advanced chip technology. Ultimately, DeepSeek’s impact on the tech industry has been substantial, with potential implications for the global AI landscape.
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