A New Player in the AI Villa
A new player has made a big entrance in the AI villa, and it’s creating significant disruption. Chinese AI startup DeepSeek made waves last week when it released the full version of R1, the company’s open-source reasoning model that can outperform OpenAI’s o1. On Monday, App Store downloads of DeepSeek’s AI assistant topped ChatGPT, which had previously been the most downloaded free app. DeepSeek has also already climbed to the third spot overall on HuggingFace’s Chatbot Arena, under several Gemini models as well as ChatGPT-4o.
What is DeepSeek?
Founded by Liang Wenfeng in May 2023 (and thus not even two years old), the Chinese startup has challenged established AI companies with its open-source approach. According to Forbes, DeepSeek’s edge may lie in the fact that it is funded only by High-Flyer, a hedge fund also run by Wenfeng, which gives the company a funding model that supports fast growth and research.
What is DeepSeek R1?
Released in full last week, R1 is DeepSeek’s flagship reasoning model, which performs at or above OpenAI’s lauded o1 model on several math, coding, and reasoning benchmarks. What makes R1 most interesting is that, unlike other top models from tech giants, it’s open-source, meaning anyone can download and use it.
Privacy Concerns
Data privacy worries that have circulated around TikTok — the Chinese-owned social media app that is now somewhat banned in the US — are also cropping up about DeepSeek. It’s unclear what user data DeepSeek may be collecting or potentially sharing with the Chinese government (according to claims made by the US government that TikTok owner ByteDance has repeatedly denied).
What this means for AI at large
R1’s success highlights a sea change in AI that could empower smaller labs and researchers to create competitive models and diversify the field of available options. For example, organizations without the funding or staff of OpenAI can download R1 and fine-tune it to compete with models like o1. Just before R1’s release, researchers at UC Berkeley created an open-source model that is on par with o1-preview, an early version of o1, in just 19 hours and for roughly $450.
Conclusion
DeepSeek’s entrance into the AI market has sent shockwaves, and its open-source approach has the potential to disrupt the industry. While privacy concerns are understandable, the fact that R1 is open-source means increased transparency, giving users the opportunity to inspect the model’s source code for signs of privacy-related activity.
FAQs
Q: What is DeepSeek?
A: DeepSeek is a Chinese AI startup that has challenged established AI companies with its open-source approach.
Q: What is DeepSeek R1?
A: R1 is DeepSeek’s flagship reasoning model, which performs at or above OpenAI’s lauded o1 model on several math, coding, and reasoning benchmarks.
Q: Is DeepSeek’s R1 open-source?
A: Yes, R1 is open-source, meaning anyone can download and use it.
Q: What are the privacy concerns surrounding DeepSeek?
A: Data privacy worries that have circulated around TikTok are also cropping up about DeepSeek, with concerns about what user data may be collected or potentially shared with the Chinese government.
Q: What does this mean for AI at large?
A: R1’s success highlights a sea change in AI that could empower smaller labs and researchers to create competitive models and diversify the field of available options.
