Prime Highlights
- DeepSeek’s V4 pro version outperforms all open-source rivals in world-knowledge benchmarks, second only to Google’s closed-source Gemini-Pro-3.1.
- DeepSeek is reportedly seeking funding at a valuation exceeding $20 billion, with Alibaba and Tencent in talks to take stakes.
Key Facts
- DeepSeek is a Hangzhou-based AI startup owned by China’s High-Flyer Capital Management, known for building low-cost, open-source AI models.
- The U.S. began restricting China’s access to advanced AI chips in 2022, accelerating Beijing’s push for domestic semiconductor development through companies like Huawei.
Background
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek launched a preview of its new V4 model in the last week of April, built to run on Huawei chip technology, marking a notable shift in the company’s hardware strategy and highlighting China’s expanding AI capabilities.
The V4 marks a departure from DeepSeek’s earlier reliance on Nvidia chips, with Huawei confirming that its entire Ascend supernode product line now supports the new V4 series. The pro version of the model outperforms other open-source models in world-knowledge benchmarks, trailing only Google’s Gemini-Pro-3.1, a closed-source model. A lower-cost flash version is also available. DeepSeek has not confirmed a timeline for the final product launch.
The release is coming a day after the White House accused Beijing of stealing intellectual property of U.S. AI labs on an industrial scale. DeepSeek sits at the centre of that controversy, with Washington accusing the company of violating U.S. export controls by acquiring restricted Nvidia chips. Anthropic and OpenAI have also alleged that DeepSeek improperly used their proprietary models. The Chinese Embassy in Washington rejected the allegations, stating that Beijing strongly upholds intellectual property rights.
Huawei’s Ascend chip line plays a central role in China’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency following U.S. restrictions on advanced chip exports that began in 2022. The V4 release shook up domestic competitors, with Zhipu AI losing 9%, while MiniMax dipped by 7%. Meanwhile, there are reports that DeepSeek is raising money at a valuation higher than $20 billion, with Alibaba and Tencent interested in investing.