Whether you follow tech news or not, you've probably heard of DeepSeek. This Chinese startup, barely two years old, has made a stunning breakthrough in the AI industry with its latest reasoning model, DeepSeek R1.
Despite having only a fraction of the training costs of its Western counterparts, R1's reasoning capabilities rival OpenAI's o1.
But what truly sets DeepSeek apart is its commitment to open-sourceâ€"allowing anyone to freely use, download, and even deploy their own AI models locally. This move has sent shockwaves across the tech world and rattled capital markets, even shaking NVIDIA's stock price.
It's hard to imagine that DeepSeek's rise to global attention happened during China's Spring Festival, a time traditionally reserved for family gatherings and lighthearted conversations. Yet, this cutting-edge tech development stole the spotlight from holiday topics and became the center of discussions across the country.
Interestingly, the same thing happened during last year's Chinese New Year, when OpenAI's Sora became the most talked-about innovation.For two consecutive years, the biggest AI news has coincided with China's grandest festival.
DeepSeek did not emerge out of nowhere. Industry insiders had been closely watching the company for some time. Over the past weeks, much of the buzz has centered around R1, a reasoning model similar to OpenAI's O1.
However, many of DeepSeek's most astonishing breakthroughsâ€"such as its incredibly low training costsâ€"were already evident when it launched V3 late last year. In fact, many of the innovations behind V3 were first introduced with V2 back in early 2024. This is why DeepSeek has long been considered a rising star in the AI community.
Over the past weeks, global cloud service providers have been racing to integrate DeepSeek's models into their platforms. No one wants to miss out on the AI frenzy sparked by DeepSeek. Beyond proving China's growing competitiveness in AI, DeepSeek's success has also sparked deep reflection among Chinese tech giants: Why did the most groundbreaking AI breakthrough come from a startup with no commercial pressure rather than from well-funded industry giants?
I found some answers in earlier interviews with DeepSeek's founder.
At the helm of DeepSeek is Liang Wenfeng, whose previous venture was High-Flyer, one of China's top quantitative hedge funds. High-Flyer relies entirely on AI-driven investment strategies, without human traders. This background gives Liang and his team an innate understanding of AI.
Unlike many startups that rush into commercialization, DeepSeek chose open-source from the very beginning. This decision wasn't just about financial independenceâ€"it was a strategic move, in the founder's view, to attract top-tier global talent. Liang once said:
"In the face of disruptive technologies, a closed model's competitive moat is only temporary. The real moat lies in a team's growth, technical accumulation, and a culture of continuous innovation."
He further explained: "For technical talent, having others build upon your innovations is immensely fulfilling. Open-source is more of a cultural philosophy than a business strategyâ€"it earns respect. There is also a cultural attraction for a company to do this.."
In today's fiercely competitive AI landscape, this vision is particularly striking. While industry leaders like OpenAI have pivoted from open to closed models, DeepSeek is doubling down on openness.
Liang believes that "building a strong technical ecosystem first is more important" than immediate commercialization. For him, open-source is not just a technological choiceâ€"it seems to be a philosophical one.
Preview: In tomorrow's article, we will explain in simple terms how DeepSeek has reduced training costs through technological innovation and impacted the global market.
About the Author
Yang Zhao is in charge of CGTN's science, technology, and environmental coverage. He also founded CGTN's Tech It Out studio, which produces award-winning scientific documentaries, including Human Carbon Footprint, Architectural Intelligence, and Land of Diversity.
Yang Zhao
