Summary:
DeepSeek has revolutionized the AI industry with its model R1, rivaling OpenAI's capabilities.
The startup's open-source commitment allows free access to its AI models, shaking up the tech world.
Liang Wenfeng, the founder, emphasizes a culture of continuous innovation through open-source philosophy.
DeepSeek's breakthroughs in low training costs have garnered attention from global cloud providers.
The success of DeepSeek raises questions about the commercial pressure faced by large tech companies.
Editor's Note
AI Action Summit 2025 will be held in Paris next week. Last month, Chinese AI company DeepSeek sent shockwaves through the global market, undoubtedly making China's voice and solutions the focal point of the summit. Today marks the beginning of Catalyst DeepSeek, a 3-part commentary by CGTN technology reporter Yang Zhao. This chapter reviews the ripple effects triggered by DeepSeek and explores the technological philosophy of its founder.
DeepSeek's Breakthrough
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 model, DeepSeek R1. Despite having only a fraction of the training costs of its Western counterparts, R1's reasoning capabilities rival OpenAI's o1. What truly sets DeepSeek apart is its commitment to open-source, allowing anyone to freely use, download, and even deploy their own AI models locally. This move has sent shockwaves across the tech world, rattling capital markets and even shaking NVIDIA's stock price.
A Festive Surprise
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, becoming the center of discussions across the country. Interestingly, a similar phenomenon occurred during last year's Chinese New Year when OpenAI's Sora became the most talked-about innovation.
The Road to Recognition
DeepSeek did not emerge out of nowhere. Industry insiders had been closely watching the company for some time. Over the past few weeks, much of the buzz has centered around R1, a reasoning model similar to OpenAI's o1. However, many of DeepSeek's most astonishing breakthroughs – such as its incredibly low training costs – were already evident when it launched V3 late last year. This is why DeepSeek has long been considered a rising star in the AI community.
The Impact on Tech Giants
Global cloud service providers have been racing to integrate DeepSeek's models into their platforms, unwilling to miss out on the AI frenzy sparked by DeepSeek. Beyond proving China's growing competitiveness in AI, DeepSeek's success has 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?
Visionary Leadership
At the helm of DeepSeek is Liang Wenfeng, whose previous venture was High-Flyer, one of China's top quantitative hedge funds, relying entirely on AI-driven investment strategies. 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 independence – it was a strategic move to attract top-tier global talent. As 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 elaborates that "For technical talent, having others build upon your innovations is immensely fulfilling. Open-source is more of a cultural philosophy than a business strategy – 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 choice – it seems to be a philosophical one.
What’s Next?
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.
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