Key Points
- DeepSeek has surpassed ChatGPT to become the top free app on Apple’s App Store.
- The AI assistant is powered by DeepSeek V3, which is claimed to be cost-effective and efficient.
- DeepSeek offers coding, content creation, and research tools via web, app, and API.
- The company has stockpiled NVIDIA A100 chips before the U.S. export ban to support development.
Chinese AI assistant DeepSeek has surged to the top of Apple’s App Store rankings in the U.S. and other regions, surpassing major competitors such as ChatGPT and other AI-driven assistants. DeepSeek is powered by the open-source DeepSeek V3 model, which the company claims requires significantly less computing power than rival models while delivering performance comparable to leading AI systems like Claude-3.5 and GPT-4o. According to the company, the model was developed for under $6 million, though analysts have disputed this claim.
DeepSeek offers various AI capabilities, including coding assistance, content creation, and research support. It is accessible via the web, mobile app, and API, making it a versatile solution for businesses and individuals. Its initial release, DeepSeek-R1, is available under an MIT license, allowing for commercial use without restrictions, further contributing to its rapid adoption.
The company, headquartered in Hangzhou, China, was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who also operates the hedge fund backing DeepSeek. According to MIT Technology Review, Wenfeng reportedly stockpiled NVIDIA A100 GPUs before the ban to circumvent U.S. restrictions on advanced chip exports and supplemented them with less powerful chips still available for import. Despite facing hardware constraints compared to industry giants like OpenAI and Google, DeepSeek has focused on optimizing its AI models to maximize efficiency and reduce costs.
While the company’s claims regarding development costs and performance have raised skepticism among industry analysts—particularly from firms like Citi, which cite China’s restrictive regulatory environment—DeepSeek’s success has sparked concerns for established AI players. The app’s rapid rise has even influenced market dynamics, with stocks of major AI chip suppliers such as NVIDIA and ASML experiencing a decline following the news.
DeepSeek’s ascent highlights China’s growing competitiveness in the global AI race, posing a potential challenge to Western tech firms that have already poured billions into AI research and infrastructure.