DeepSeek rattled the global AI industry last month when it released its open-source R1 reasoning model, which rivaled Western systems in performance while being developed at a lower cost.
The company’s commitment to open-source has distinguished it from most AI firms in China, which like their US rivals lean towards closed-sourced models.
DeepSeek’s low-key founder Liang Wenfeng said in a rare interview with a Chinese media outlet last July that the firm did not prioritise commercialising its AI models and that there was soft power to be gained from open source.
“Having others follow your innovation gives a great sense of accomplishment,” Liang said in July.
“In fact, open source is more of a cultural behavior than a commercial one, and contributing to it earns us respect,” he added.
