Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has made significant advancements, raising questions about the level of American investment needed in artificial intelligence. DeepSeek has developed a free, open-source assistant using lower-cost chips and less data than its American counterparts, including ChatGPT.
This development has led to declines in European and U.S. stock market futures, with tech-focused indices such as the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 experiencing decreases. Notably, shares in Nvidia fell by 10.3%, and companies like Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet also faced declines in pre-market trading.
DeepSeek’s chatbot has topped Apple’s U.S. App Store downloads, and its recent AI model training utilized significantly fewer Nvidia chips than typical U.S. models. These advancements have spurred investor interest and questioned the substantial capital expenditure claimed necessary by U.S. AI companies.
