Today we are gonna discuss the most discussed AI—DeepSeek. It has changed many equations overnight.
DeepSeek is a Chinese artificial intelligence startup, which is similar to ChatGPT or maybe better than ChatGPT. At least, the world is saying that. Why? We will know it slowly.
It also works like ChatGPT. They also have an app for phones. But most importantly, why has it become the talk of the town overnight? Because all its features are free, whereas we have to pay ChatGPT a handsome amount.
It has beaten ChatGPT’s iOS app download record in the U.S.
They released their latest version, DeepSeek R1, in January, which took very little cost to create compared to similar companies. Even President Donald Trump warned U.S. companies, calling it a “wake-up call.”
How Does Artificial Intelligence Work?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) works by simulating human intelligence processes using machines, primarily through data collection, processing, and model training. AI systems use large datasets to learn patterns. They use methods like machine learning (ML) and deep learning.
These methods involve neural networks. Algorithms are trained to do tasks like classification, prediction, or decision-making. We evaluate their performance using metrics such as accuracy.
Once trained, models are deployed to make real-time predictions or decisions based on new data. AI continuously improves through feedback and retraining, enabling applications in healthcare, finance, transportation, and more. Key technologies include natural language processing (NLP), computer vision, and robotics.
How Is Generative AI Used?
DeepSeek and ChatGPT are types of generative AI since they generate responses based on given prompts. Most AI models work like this. Tons of people use these apps for summarizing text, writing emails, getting code suggestions, and studying purposes.
What Is DeepSeek?
DeepSeek is a free AI chatbot similar to ChatGPT, designed for tasks like coding and mathematics. It works at a level similar to OpenAI’s o1 model. It uses a “reasoning” method to create answers step by step.
A key benefit of DeepSeek is its cost efficiency. OpenAI’s GPT-4 reportedly cost over $100 million to train. In contrast, DeepSeek’s creators say they got similar results for only $6 million. Despite U.S. restrictions on advanced chips, the company stockpiled Nvidia A100 chips before the ban and likely optimized performance by combining them with less powerful hardware.
DeepSeek also uses less memory than competitors, reducing operational costs. This helped it become the most-downloaded free app on Apple’s App Store at launch, though it soon faced large-scale cyberattacks, leading to temporary registration limits and website outages.
Like other Chinese AI models, DeepSeek avoids politically sensitive topics due to government censorship.
How Was DeepSeek Born?
So, DeepSeek is not a new company. It was founded by Liang Wenfeng back in 2023 and released its first language model that year.
The founder does not have much public appearance, but he has the will not to be a follower of U.S. AI companies. Rather, he wanted to bring China forward to the world.
He graduated from Zhejiang University in electronic information engineering and computer science. But now he has become the talk of the town due to DeepSeek’s success.
He is the CEO of a hedge fund named High-Flyer. This fund uses AI to analyze financial data. It helps make investment decisions through a method called quantitative trading. In 2019, High-Flyer became the first quant hedge fund in China to raise over 100 billion yuan ($13 million).
How Is the World Receiving DeepSeek?
It has been welcomed positively all over the world. We can understand this by seeing its record-breaking app downloads on Android and iOS. It has already disrupted the U.S. AI industry, causing companies to lose millions overnight.
Nasdaq, a chip company, saw its shares fall by 3%. Nvidia’s shares dropped by 17%. Its market value went down from $3.5 trillion to $2.9 trillion, according to Forbes.
So, we can see that it has changed all equations in the AI industry. Millions of people are signing up for DeepSeek, and it has even suffered cyberattacks. The company is now working on fixing this issue.
On the other hand, Australia has banned DeepSeek on government devices due to privacy concerns, as they did not provide details on how they store user data. The Australian government has stated that this ban is not because it is a Chinese company but rather due to national security concerns. However, there are no bans or limitations on DeepSeek for private citizens.
Meanwhile, Italy has blocked DeepSeek from the App Store after concerns about its privacy policy. Italy has always been skeptical about AI, as they temporarily blocked ChatGPT back in 2023. Other countries are also investigating how DeepSeek handles user data.
DeepSeek R1 vs. ChatGPT – A Comparison Based on Experience
Here, I will share my own experience because I have used both AI models. So, let’s begin.
Being a food lover, I gave both models the following prompt:
“Give me a blog post about world trending food habits of 2025.”
DeepSeek gave me a 261-word blog post, covering topics like plant-based revolution, sustainable eating, functional food, lab-grown proteins, tech-driven dining, and global fusion food.
ChatGPT gave me a 472-word blog post, covering topics like plant-based lab-grown protein, hyper-personalized nutrition, regenerative and sustainable agriculture, functional and gut-health foods, tech-driven food experiences, alternative flours and low-carb innovations, global fusion comfort foods, climate-conscious eating, smart snacking and functional beverages, and AI-generated food and recipes.
Both provided high-quality content, but ChatGPT included more details, whereas DeepSeek was more concise.
To my surprise, DeepSeek bypassed more AI detector tools than ChatGPT.
After analyzing some developers’ posts, I found that DeepSeek is more capable of solving critical coding problems compared to ChatGPT. This could be because DeepSeek R1 is a reasoning model, which makes it better for coding than ChatGPT.
One more important thing—DeepSeek is much cheaper than ChatGPT.
Well, I think both are great in their own ways. Maybe we will see much more advanced AI models in the near future. Let’s see how our lives blend with these AI models.