DeepSeek’s R1 AI Model Impresses Silicon Valley, Outperforming Rivals with Fewer Resources Despite Censorship Concerns.

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, unveiled its new model, R1, on January 20, sparking significant interest in Silicon Valley.

Marc Andreessen, a well-known venture capitalist, praised it as an impressive breakthrough.

The announcement triggered a selloff in technology stocks, with the Nasdaq falling 3% and Nvidia dropping more than 10%.

DeepSeek’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, discussed advancements in AI with China’s premier, focusing on closing the competitive gap with the U.S.

While specialists agree that DeepSeek’s technology is still behind that of OpenAI and Google, it remains a strong competitor.

The company has developed its models using fewer chips and at a fraction of the cost compared to its rivals.

DeepSeek’s latest model, V3, has been noted for lacking responses to politically sensitive questions, aligning with Chinese government narratives.

Despite this limitation, Liang believes the censorship can be revised by other developers since the code is open-source.

DeepSeek’s affordable services have prompted a price battle in the Chinese AI market.