Less than three weeks after its January 10 debut, the AI assistant developed by the Chinese tech startup DeepSeek has surpassed ChatGPT as the most popular free app on the U.S. App Store.
The DeepSeek-V3 model powers the app, which its developers claim: “Tops the leaderboard among open-source models and rivals the most advanced closed-source models globally.”
Sensor Tower’s analytics support its rising appeal and capacity to upend long-held beliefs about US leadership in AI innovation.
BrandSpur technology and IT news desk report that given the strict US export regulations intended to restrict China’s access to cutting-edge processors and artificial intelligence capabilities, DeepSeek’s accomplishment is praiseworthy. The Biden administration has been tightening these regulations since 2021 to limit AI model training in China.
However, in a recent study, DeepSeek researchers disclosed that their model was trained using Nvidia’s H800 chips, which were said to have cost less than $6 million. The effectiveness of US export regulations in halting China’s technological development remains a matter of debate, despite the claims regarding the chips and training expenses. These steps may not be enough to stop China’s advancements in AI, according to several US tech CEOs.
Since Baidu released China’s first large-language model, DeepSeek, which was founded in Hangzhou in 2023, is one of several Chinese businesses creating AI models. DeepSeek’s progress, however, is remarkable—it is the first Chinese AI model to be widely acknowledged in the US for perhaps matching or outperforming top American AI models, such as ChatGPT.
