DeepSeek, a mobile AI application, has surged past OpenAI's ChatGPT to claim the top position on the iPhone free app charts in both China and the United States. This significant achievement comes shortly after its developer launched the \"reasoning model\" known as DeepSeek R1.
When users engage the \"DeepThink (R1)\" mode, the app showcases its \"thinking process\" before delivering responses, enabling it to tackle complex logical and mathematical problems with enhanced proficiency. According to DeepSeek's official website, the R1 model's performance is \"on par with\" OpenAI-o1, yet its operational costs are approximately one-thirtieth of its competitor's.
The mobile app and accompanying web chatbot are currently available for free for general users, with only API calls for programmers requiring payment. Moreover, DeepSeek has made its full-size model freely downloadable, allowing users with sufficient hardware capabilities to run it locally. For those with less powerful devices, the company offers scaled-down versions of the model, optimized for everything from ultra-thin laptops to high-performance gaming rigs.
In addition to providing free access to its models, DeepSeek has published a research paper detailing the development of R1, enabling other developers to replicate the process using their own training data.
The AI Community Reacts
The release of the R1 model has generated significant buzz within the AI industry, drawing impressed reactions from prominent figures.
Marc Andreessen, venture capitalist and co-founder of Netscape, described DeepSeek R1 on X.com as \"one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs\" he has ever witnessed, calling it \"a profound gift to the world.\"
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas noted on X.com that \"DeepSeek has largely replicated OpenAI-o1-mini and has open-sourced it.\"
Jim Fan, a senior research manager at Nvidia, commented that DeepSeek is a \"non-U.S. company\" upholding OpenAI's original mission of conducting \"truly open, frontier research that empowers all.\"
Yann LeCun, Meta's chief AI scientist, emphasized that DeepSeek's success does not signify \"China surpassing the U.S. in AI\" but rather highlights how \"open-source models are surpassing proprietary ones.\"
Kai-Fu Lee, former president of Google China, expressed a sense of vindication, stating that the DeepSeek releases validate his belief in China's potential to excel in generative AI engineering, despite skepticism from others.
DeepSeek CEO Advocates for Innovation in China
In a July 2024 interview with 36kr.com, DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng argued that China must move beyond the stereotype of merely applying U.S. innovations. As the country's economy grows, he emphasized, it should transition into a global contributor to innovation rather than relying on the advancements of others.
Liang highlighted that innovation stems not only from the pursuit of business success but also from genuine curiosity. He revealed that the DeepSeek team is composed of young talent and that the development of the company's earlier V2 model did not involve any overseas Chinese contributors.
\"Perhaps the top 50 talents in this field are not in China,\" Liang told 36kr.com. \"But we can cultivate our own.\"
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
