Deepseek | China's New AI Model Destroys American ChatGPT | Dhruv Rathee

Summary

DeepSeek, a groundbreaking AI chatbot from China, has disrupted the global tech industry, outperforming top models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini in benchmarks like math and reasoning. Developed by Liang Wenfeng with a small, young team, DeepSeek’s success is attributed to its low-cost development and efficient performance. The app became the most downloaded worldwide within days of launch, causing a major drop in NVIDIA’s stock and a shift in AI dynamics. Despite censorship concerns, DeepSeek’s open-source nature has gained widespread adoption, challenging the dominance of American tech giants and reshaping the AI landscape.

Takeaways

• 😀 DeepSeek AI, developed by a Chinese company, has shocked the world by outperforming top AI chatbots like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.
• 😀 DeepSeek R1, launched in January 2025, is claimed to be more efficient, better in terms of performance, and much cheaper to develop compared to its competitors.
• 😀 While OpenAI charges $200/month for its advanced ChatGPT o1 model, DeepSeek offers its services completely for free.
• 😀 DeepSeek was developed by Liang Wenfeng, a Chinese entrepreneur who started the project out of scientific curiosity with a small, young team.
• 😀 DeepSeek is a Chain of Thought model that performs advanced reasoning, making it far superior in logic and math compared to older AI models like GPT-3 or GPT-4.
• 😀 The AI uses a unique method called Mixture of Experts, reducing the number of active parameters and increasing efficiency.
• 😀 DeepSeek’s architecture has been compared to OpenAI’s models, but it shows better logical reasoning and the ability to think critically before answering questions.
• 😀 After its release, DeepSeek became the most downloaded app in both the US and India, disrupting the global tech market and leading to significant financial losses for companies like NVIDIA.
• 😀 Despite its impressive performance, DeepSeek has censorship issues regarding politically sensitive questions about China, but users can download its open-source code to bypass these limitations.
• 😀 DeepSeek’s success highlights the growing global competition in AI development, with China now playing a significant role in shaping the future of AI technology.

Q & A

What is DeepSeek AI, and why has it caused a global stir?

DeepSeek is a Chinese-developed AI chatbot that has surpassed other advanced AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT, Meta's Llama, and Google's Gemini in various benchmarks, including math and reasoning. Its release shocked American tech companies and financial markets, leading to significant losses, particularly for NVIDIA. DeepSeek is notable for being free to use, efficient, and inexpensive to develop compared to its competitors.

How did DeepSeek manage to achieve its success with such limited resources?

DeepSeek was developed by Liang Wenfeng and a small team of 200 people, most of whom were under 30 years old. They focused on using difficult questions to train their AI model, and it was developed in just two years with a budget of only $5.6 million, a fraction of the cost of competing AI models developed by companies like OpenAI, Google, and Meta.

What is unique about the way DeepSeek was developed compared to other AI models?

Unlike other AI models that relied on large engineering teams, DeepSeek's development focused on hiring PhD students from top universities and utilizing scientific curiosity rather than aiming for profit. This approach helped DeepSeek achieve high performance with a smaller team and lower budget.

Why did NVIDIA suffer such a large loss in stock value following DeepSeek's release?

NVIDIA's stock dropped significantly after DeepSeek's launch because its business primarily revolves around providing chips for AI models, and DeepSeek's performance with lower-cost hardware demonstrated that advanced AI models could be developed with fewer resources, making NVIDIA's chips less critical for AI development.

How does DeepSeek compare to other AI chatbots in terms of reasoning and performance?

DeepSeek outperforms other AI models in areas such as coding, scientific reasoning, and quantitative reasoning. It excels in logical reasoning and provides more detailed, step-by-step thought processes before generating answers, which sets it apart from competitors like ChatGPT and Google's Gemini.

What is the 'Chain of Thought' model, and how does DeepSeek utilize it?

The 'Chain of Thought' model is a method used by AI models to simulate human reasoning. DeepSeek uses this model to think through potential answers before providing a response. This results in more logical and accurate answers compared to older AI models like ChatGPT, which often provide immediate responses without considering all possible angles.

What is the biggest disadvantage of DeepSeek AI?

The biggest downside of DeepSeek is its response time. Due to its rising popularity and increased demand, the AI's servers are experiencing delays, leading to slower response times. This has become an issue, especially since the model is becoming widely used across different platforms.

How does DeepSeek's Mixture of Experts Method contribute to its efficiency?

DeepSeek uses a Mixture of Experts Method, where it activates specialized models (e.g., engineer, doctor, lawyer) depending on the question. This reduces the time needed for data transfer and lowers the number of parameters required to be active at once, making it more efficient and cost-effective compared to models that keep all parameters running continuously.

What are some criticisms against DeepSeek's development process?

One criticism is that DeepSeek may have copied some of OpenAI's proprietary models. OpenAI claims that DeepSeek used its models for training, although DeepSeek's open-source nature allows users to modify the code themselves. This has led to legal challenges regarding intellectual property and data usage.

How does DeepSeek's open-source nature impact its usage worldwide?

DeepSeek's open-source nature has made it highly accessible, allowing users worldwide to download, modify, and run the AI locally. This has led to widespread adoption, including by companies like Perplexity AI and Microsoft, who have integrated DeepSeek into their platforms, demonstrating trust in the model despite its Chinese origins.