Published Date : 03/02/2025
DeepSeek's release of an AI model that matches the performance of OpenAI’s o1 at a fraction of the cost has sent shockwaves through the tech industry.
The impact was so significant that Nvidia, a leading microchip and AI firm, lost over $500 billion in market value in a single day.
Investors are now wary, recognizing the growing threat to US AI dominance.
Even former President Donald Trump described DeepSeek as a 'wake-up call'.
In China, DeepSeek's founder, Liang Wenfeng, has been celebrated as a national hero and invited to a high-level symposium chaired by Premier Li Qiang.
The rapid pace at which China is catching up in AI research is apparent, but DeepSeek is just one of many Chinese companies making waves in this field.
Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of Alibaba, is a major player in the Chinese AI landscape.
On January 29, the first day of the lunar new year holiday, Alibaba Cloud released an updated version of its Qwen 2.5 AI model, called Qwen 2.5-Max.
According to the company, Qwen 2.5-Max outperforms DeepSeek V3 and Meta’s Llama 3.1 across 11 benchmarks.
This release reflects the competitive pressure DeepSeek has brought to the domestic market, but it may also be a strategic move to capitalize on the positive publicity generated by DeepSeek’s success.
Zhipu, a Beijing-based start-up backed by Alibaba, is another rising star in the Chinese AI industry.
Known as one of China’s 'AI tigers', Zhipu recently made headlines for being blacklisted by the US government.
On January 15, Zhipu was added to a US restricted trade list for allegedly aiding China’s military with its AI development.
Despite the controversy, Zhipu continues to make rapid progress.
Its most recent product, AutoGLM, is an AI assistant app that helps users operate their smartphones with complex voice commands.
Moonshot AI, another Alibaba-backed start-up based in Beijing, is valued at $3.3 billion and was founded in 2023.
On January 20, the same day DeepSeek released its R1 model, Moonshot AI unveiled Kimi k1.5, an upgraded version of Kimi, which was launched in October 2023.
Kimi k1.5 can process up to 2 million Chinese characters in a single prompt, a significant improvement from its initial capability of 200,000 characters.
Moonshot AI is considered one of the top Chinese start-ups, and it is expected to match or even surpass DeepSeek’s performance in the coming months.
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, is another major player in the Chinese AI market.
On January 29, ByteDance released Doubao-1.5-pro, an upgraded version of its AI model.
ByteDance claims that Doubao-1.5-pro outperforms OpenAI’s o1 in certain tests.
In addition to performance, Chinese companies are also challenging US competitors on price.
Doubao’s most powerful version is priced at 9 yuan per million tokens, which is nearly half the cost of DeepSeek’s offering.
For comparison, OpenAI’s o1 costs the equivalent of 438 yuan for the same usage.
Tencent, primarily known for its gaming and WeChat messaging app, has also made significant strides in AI.
Its flagship model, a text-to-video generator called Hunyuan, is said to perform as well as Meta’s Llama 3.1.
Some estimates suggest that Hunyuan required only about a tenth of the computing power used by Meta to train Llama.
Matt Sheehan, a fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and an expert on Chinese AI, warns that the US government’s focus on DeepSeek may be short-sighted.
'If the US government thinks all we need to do is crush DeepSeek and then we’ll be OK, then we’re in for a rude surprise,' he said.
The rapid advancements by other Chinese companies like Alibaba Cloud, Zhipu, Moonshot AI, ByteDance, and Tencent clearly indicate that the competition in the AI field is fierce and multifaceted.
Q: What is DeepSeek's impact on the AI market?
A: DeepSeek's release of an AI model that matches the performance of OpenAI’s o1 at a fraction of the cost has left investors and analysts stunned, causing a significant drop in Nvidia’s market value and raising concerns about the dominance of US AI leaders.
Q: What is Qwen 2.5-Max by Alibaba Cloud?
A: Qwen 2.5-Max is an updated version of Alibaba Cloud’s AI model, released on January 29. It outperforms DeepSeek V3 and Meta’s Llama 3.1 across 11 benchmarks, reflecting Alibaba Cloud's competitive response to DeepSeek’s success.
Q: Why was Zhipu blacklisted by the US government?
A: Zhipu was blacklisted by the US government for allegedly aiding China’s military with its AI development. Despite the controversy, Zhipu continues to make rapid progress in the AI industry.
Q: What is Kimi k1.5 by Moonshot AI?
A: Kimi k1.5 is an upgraded version of Moonshot AI’s AI assistant app, capable of processing up to 2 million Chinese characters in a single prompt. Moonshot AI is a rising star in the Chinese AI market, founded in 2023 and valued at $3.3 billion.
Q: How does Tencent's Hunyuan compare to Meta’s Llama 3.1?
A: Tencent's Hunyuan, a text-to-video generator, is said to perform as well as Meta’s Llama 3.1. Some estimates suggest that Hunyuan required only about a tenth of the computing power used by Meta to train Llama.