Basis: 2023
Headquarters: Hangzhou, China
Founder: Liang Wenfeng
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Government Abstract: DeepSeek was based in Might 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who beforehand established Excessive-Flyer, a quantitative hedge fund in Hangzhou, China. Liang, an AI fanatic with a background in laptop science from Zhejiang College, started his entrepreneurial journey with Excessive-Flyer in 2015, specializing in AI-driven buying and selling methods. By 2021, Excessive-Flyer was solely utilizing AI for its buying and selling, amassing over 10,000 Nvidia A100 GPUs earlier than US export restrictions on AI chips to China have been imposed.
The pivot to DeepSeek got here from a want to delve into Synthetic Normal Intelligence (AGI) analysis, separate from Excessive-Flyer’s monetary operations. This transfer was catalyzed by the worldwide curiosity in AI following the arrival of fashions like ChatGPT. DeepSeek was initially a part of Excessive-Flyer earlier than turning into its personal entity in Might 2023.
DeepSeek’s strategy has been distinct, specializing in open-source AI fashions and prioritizing innovation over rapid commercialization. Its first important launch was DeepSeek Coder in November 2023, adopted by DeepSeek LLM in November of the identical 12 months. The corporate’s breakthrough got here with DeepSeek-V2 in Might 2024, which not solely showcased robust efficiency but in addition initiated a worth battle in China’s AI sector as a consequence of its cost-effectiveness.
By December 2024, DeepSeek-V3 was launched, educated with considerably fewer assets than its friends, but matching top-tier efficiency. This mannequin, together with subsequent releases like DeepSeek-R1 in January 2025, has positioned DeepSeek as a key participant within the international AI panorama, difficult established tech giants and marking a notable second in AI growth.
