DeepSeek, a mobile AI application developed by a Chinese team, has surpassed OpenAI's ChatGPT to claim the top spot on the iPhone free app charts in both China and the United States. This significant achievement comes just days after the company launched its new \\"reasoning model,\\" DeepSeek R1.
When users activate the \\"DeepThink (R1)\\" mode, DeepSeek displays its \\"thinking process\\" before generating responses, enabling it to tackle complex logical and mathematical problems. According to the company's official website, the R1 model's performance is \\"on par with\\" OpenAI-o1, while operating at approximately one-thirtieth of the cost.
The mobile app and web chatbot are currently free for general use, with only API calls for programmers requiring payment. Additionally, DeepSeek has made its full-size model available for free download, allowing users with sufficient hardware to run it locally. For less powerful devices, the company offers scaled-down versions of the model, optimized for a range of devices from ultra-thin laptops to high-performance gaming rigs.
The AI Community Reacts
The release of the R1 model has garnered widespread attention and impressed reactions from leaders in the AI industry.
Venture capitalist and Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen described DeepSeek R1 on X.com as \\"one of the most amazing and impressive breakthroughs\\" he has ever seen, calling it \\"a profound gift to the world.\\"
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas noted 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.\\"
Meta's chief AI scientist, Yann LeCun, 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.
DeepSeek CEO: China as an Innovator
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 stated, it should transition into a global contributor to innovation rather than relying on the advancements of others.
Liang emphasized that innovation stems not only from the pursuit of business success but also from genuine curiosity. He also 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
