Chinese Tech Giants Embrace Homegrown AI Model DeepSeek
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Chinese companies, from chipmakers to cloud providers, are rapidly adopting DeepSeek's AI models, creating a significant shift in the country's AI landscape, Reuters reports. This widespread adoption has led analysts to hail this as a "watershed moment" for the industry.
The news follows announcements from several major players, including AI chip producers Moore Threads and Hygon Information Technology, and cloud service giants Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent. These companies have all integrated DeepSeek's models into their existing platforms and services, signaling a significant embrace of this homegrown AI technology.
"We pay tribute to DeepSeek," stated Moore Threads in a WeChat post, highlighting the potential for DeepSeek's progress using domestically produced GPUs to "set on fire" China's AI sector.
Huawei Technologies, also a major player in the AI chip market, announced on Saturday that it is collaborating with SiliconFlow, an AI infrastructure startup, to make DeepSeek's models readily available to customers through its Ascend cloud service. Huawei emphasized the models' competitive performance, even when compared to those running on top-tier global chips.
This integration is seen as a significant milestone by analysts. "DeepSeek demonstrates that competitive large language models (LLM) can be deployed on China's 'good enough' chips, easing reliance on cutting-edge U.S. hardware," noted Bernstein analysts in a report, as cited by Reuters.
The widespread adoption extends beyond AI chip and cloud service providers. Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent's cloud arms have also made DeepSeek's models accessible through their respective platforms.
This rapid adoption follows the recent launch of DeepSeek's free AI assistant, which has already surpassed the downloads of its US competitor, ChatGPT, on Apple's App Store.
The company's success has not gone unnoticed globally. Microsoft and Amazon's cloud services are also offering DeepSeek's models. However, several countries, including Italy and the Netherlands, have blocked or are investigating the DeepSeek app due to privacy concerns.