Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepSeek unveiled a new image generator shortly after its hit chatbot sent shock waves through the tech industry and stock market.
New AI heroes
His sudden fame has made Mr Liang a sensation on China’s social media, where he is hailed as one of the “three AI heroes” from the southern province of Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong.
The other two are Zhilin Yang, a leading expert at Tsinghua University, and Kaiming He, who teaches at MIT in the US.
DeepSeek has delighted the Chinese internet ahead of the Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday. It’s good news for a beleaguered economy and a tech industry that is bracing for further tariffs and the possible sale of TikTok’s US business.
DeepSeek shows us that only if you have the real deal will you stand the test of time,” a top-liked Weibo comment reads.
For instance, Vistra — a Fortune 500 integrated retail electricity and power generation company — closed nearly 30% lower, losing its gains for 2025. Constellation Energy, Talen Energy, and GE Vernova also dropped by more than 20%, according to a report by NBC.
Washington was confident it was ahead and wanted to keep it that way. So the Biden administration stepped up sanctions, banning the export of advanced chips and technology to China.
That’s why DeepSeek’s launch shocked Silicon Valley and the world. The firm claims the powerful model is much cheaper than the billions spent by US firms on AI.
So, how did a lesser-known company pull it off – whose founder was hailed as an “AI hero” on Chinese social media?
This is the timing and the way the message is being sent that the Chinese government wants everyone to think that export controls don’t work and that America is not the global leader in AI, said Mr.
Allen, former director of strategy and policy at the US Department of Defense’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center.
Take the DeepSeek team for example – Chinese media say it consists of fewer than 140 people, most of whom the Internet proudly proclaims are “home-grown talent” from elite Chinese universities.
Western observers have missed the emergence of “a new generation of entrepreneurs who prioritize fundamental research and long-term technological progress over quick profits”, Ms. Zhang said.
DeepSeek has delighted the Chinese internet ahead ofthe Lunar New Year, the country’s biggest holiday. It’s good news for a beleaguered economy and a tech industry that is bracing for further tariffs and the possible sale of TikTok’s US business.
Deepseek
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