The Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape was recently shaken by the arrival of a new protagonist: DeepSeek. Developed by a Chinese startup, the tool promises to redefine what we understand as generative AI, challenging industry giants like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. But what makes DeepSeek so special?
It is an open-source AI platform that stands out for its efficiency and low development costs, achieved through an innovative and highly disruptive technological architecture compared to the more well-known generative artificial intelligence models on the market. One of the most notable technical innovations is the so-called “intelligent quantization,” which, in simpler terms, can be understood as the rounding formula used to simplify calculations. This approach significantly reduces memory requirements and associated costs without compromising the accuracy of the results.
Thus, while companies like OpenAI invested around $6 billion over a decade, with a team of 4,500 employees, DeepSeek achieved comparable results in just two years, with a team of fewer than 200 employees and investments approximately 1,000 times smaller, between $5 and $6 million.
Moreover, DeepSeek is built on a hybrid architecture that combines deep neural networks with sparse attention mechanisms and advanced reinforcement learning algorithms. This combination allows for more efficient data processing, reducing computational consumption while maintaining high accuracy.
Another differentiator is that DeepSeek adopts the “mixture of experts” approach, activating only the computational resources needed for each task. This technique not only increases efficiency but also reduces energy consumption, making the model more sustainable. One of its biggest advantages is that it is an open-source system. This means anyone—whether a researcher, developer, or tech enthusiast—can access its source code, study it, modify it, and improve it according to their needs.
The democratization of AI enables developing countries and regions to access cutting-edge technologies without relying exclusively on proprietary and high-cost solutions, leveling the playing field and allowing different communities to benefit from AI advancements to solve local challenges.
Impact on the market
The introduction of DeepSeek has caused a significant impact on the technological and financial markets. Companies like Nvidia, a leading supplier of AI chips, saw a sharp decline in their stock prices (which had been excessively inflated for months) after DeepSeek’s launch, resulting in a loss of market capitalization of approximately $600 billion (as of the time this article was written). This demonstrates how much the “DeepSeek phenomenon” has challenged the status quo and prompted a reevaluation of AI development strategies by major companies.
All of this was so impactful and transformative that even the newly inaugurated U.S. President Donald Trump, who has made global AI leadership by American companies one of his key government platforms, was forced to comment.
Additionally, DeepSeek’s accessibility and low cost open opportunities for small and medium-sized businesses to adopt advanced AI solutions, previously restricted to large corporations due to high costs. The result could be greater innovation across various sectors, from healthcare to finance.
DeepSeek’s success signals a shift in the AI development paradigm (previously led and dominated by the U.S.), introducing new heavyweight competitors to the industry, emphasizing efficiency with accessibility. This approach is expected to encourage other companies to adopt open-source models, seeking more resource-efficient solutions.
However, preparing for this revolution requires professionals and companies to adopt certain behaviors:
- Continuously update themselves: Staying informed about the latest trends and advances in AI is crucial. Reading news and participating in courses, workshops, and conferences can help keep up with the rapid pace of innovation.
- Adopt an open mindset: Being willing to experiment with new tools and approaches, such as those offered by DeepSeek, can provide significant competitive advantages, as there are literally dozens of new developments every day—and this process is likely to accelerate.
- Foster collaboration: The open-source nature of DeepSeek highlights the importance of collaboration in the AI community. Contributing to open-source projects and sharing knowledge are actions that can accelerate collective progress, countering the prevailing paid and closed models in the market.
The digital transformation is accelerating, and DeepSeek exemplifies how innovations can emerge unexpectedly, challenging established players and redefining the future of technology. Being prepared for change is essential to staying relevant and competitive in today’s market. I am very curious and interested in following where all of this will lead us! And you?
