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DeepSeek and the AI Revolution

Robert Thompson
News and Narrative
Published in
5 min readFeb 1, 2025

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Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash

A Wake-Up Call for America’s Tech Barons and a Blueprint for UK Innovation

For decades, Silicon Valley’s tech giants have equated astronomical spending with technological supremacy. Billions have been poured into AI, with companies like OpenAI raising record funds and Meta planning tens of billions in investments. Yet the emergence of DeepSeek — a Chinese AI startup that recently soared past ChatGPT in Apple’s app store — has shattered this long-held paradigm.

A Paradigm Shift in AI Development

DeepSeek is not just another tool in the AI toolbox; it is a seismic shift in the industry’s approach to innovation. While the giants of American AI have justified their sky-high budgets by arguing that only vast sums can stave off competition, DeepSeek has demonstrated that state-of-the-art AI doesn’t need to be expensive. Using relatively unsophisticated chips and training its model for a mere $6 million — compared to ChatGPT’s nearly $100 million — the company has achieved performance that rivals, and in some cases exceeds, that of its American counterparts.

Even more striking is DeepSeek’s commitment to accessibility. Its open-source MIT license means that the technology is available for anyone to deploy and build upon. This democratization of AI is a stark contrast to the exclusive, high-cost…

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Robert Thompson
Robert Thompson

Written by Robert Thompson

Just trying to make sense of the world.

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