Patrick Boyle On Finance DeepSeek - How a Chinese AI Startup Shook Silicon Valley
Feb 3, 2025
A trillion-dollar shakeup occurred as a Chinese AI start-up snatched attention from Silicon Valley. Their new model, R1, rivals tech giants like Google and OpenAI but at a fraction of the cost. The discussion highlights the innovative strategies behind DeepSeek’s development and its fast rise to becoming the most downloaded app. As investor sentiments shift, the podcast unpacks the competitive dynamics in AI, the paradox of efficiency, and the unpredictable future of tech investments amidst evolving market landscapes.
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DeepSeek's Disruption
- DeepSeek, a Chinese AI firm, built a model comparable to those of OpenAI and Google at a fraction of the cost.
- This raises doubts about Big Tech's AI spending and whether AI will be winner-take-all.
Reasoning Model Development
- OpenAI's O1 model introduced a 'chain of thought' approach, improving answer quality and transparency.
- Alibaba's QWQ model, released before Google's, was open-sourced, unlike OpenAI's secretive approach.
DeepSeek's Origins and Performance
- DeepSeek, spun out of a hedge fund, open-sourced its models under the MIT license.
- Despite lower costs, DeepSeek's models perform comparably to top US firms', challenging the necessity of NVIDIA's expensive chips.