DeepSeek AI: The Chinese Startup Beating OpenAI with Affordable AI Tools
- Abeera Marium Siddiqui
- January 27, 2025
- 11:41 am
- 36
- Technology

DeepSeek AI is a new company from China that’s shaking up the world of artificial intelligence (AI). This startup, created in May 2023, is competing with big names like OpenAI by making AI tools that are cheaper and just as smart. DeepSeek is helping people and businesses use advanced AI without spending too much money.
The Big Idea Behind DeepSeek AI
Liang Wenfeng, a tech expert and finance pro, started DeepSeek AI. He wanted the company to focus on research and innovation instead of pleasing investors. Liang’s team is young, with most members being fresh graduates from China’s top universities. These young minds bring energy and new ideas to the table, helping DeepSeek move fast and stay ahead.
Cool Stuff DeepSeek Has Made
In just two years, DeepSeek has released several amazing AI products:
- DeepSeek Coder (November 2023): A tool to help developers write and fix code quickly.
- DeepSeek LLM (67-billion parameters): A smart language model that understands and creates human-like text.
- DeepSeek-V2 (May 2024): This tool started a price war in China because it was super affordable.
- DeepSeek-V3 and DeepSeek-Coder-V2: Improved versions with faster and better features.
- DeepSeek-R1 (January 2025): A new model that matches OpenAI’s o1 but costs way less.
These tools make DeepSeek a tough competitor and force companies like ByteDance and Alibaba to drop their prices.
Why DeepSeek Stands Out
DeepSeek isn’t just copying others—it’s using new ideas to stay on top. Here’s what makes it different:
- Reinforcement Learning: Its AI tools learn by trying things and getting better over time.
- Mixture-of-Experts (MoE): The models only use a small part of their power for each task, which saves energy and time.
- Model Distillation: This process makes smaller, cheaper versions of big models without losing quality.
- Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA): This feature helps the AI process more information at once, giving accurate answers faster.
DeepSeek’s focus on smart and efficient methods helps it stay ahead of competitors.
Affordable AI for Everyone
DeepSeek has made AI tools that almost anyone can afford:
- Low Training Costs: DeepSeek spends much less than OpenAI or Meta to train its models.
- Cheap API Pricing: DeepSeek-R1’s API costs $0.55 per million input tokens. OpenAI charges $15 for the same thing.
By keeping prices low, DeepSeek makes it easier for small businesses and developers to use advanced AI. Plus, its open-source model lets anyone use or improve its tools for free. This sparks creativity and teamwork worldwide.
Smart Partnerships
DeepSeek doesn’t work alone. It has teamed up with AMD, a company that makes powerful computer hardware. AMD provides DeepSeek with advanced GPUs and software, which help its models run faster and smoother. These partnerships keep DeepSeek competitive even against bigger, richer companies.
Changing the AI World
DeepSeek’s success is shaking up the AI industry. Its low-cost and open-source tools are forcing companies like OpenAI, ByteDance, and Alibaba to think differently. This competition benefits everyone by making AI cheaper and better.
People love DeepSeek’s tools. On platforms like Hugging Face, its models are some of the most downloaded. But DeepSeek also faces challenges:
- Censorship in China: Some countries might avoid DeepSeek because of China’s strict internet rules.
- Chip Restrictions: The U.S. limits the export of advanced computer chips to China, which could slow down DeepSeek’s progress.
Despite these problems, DeepSeek keeps finding ways to improve and grow.
OpenAI Tries to Fight Back
DeepSeek’s fast rise is putting pressure on OpenAI. To keep up, OpenAI is now offering some of its advanced models for free. Even so, DeepSeek’s low prices and open-source approach give it an advantage.
Experts compare DeepSeek’s impact on AI to how Android changed the smartphone market. By focusing on affordability, DeepSeek makes AI more available to everyone.
Conclusion
DeepSeek AI is changing the way we think about artificial intelligence. It makes powerful tools that are affordable, easy to use, and open to everyone. By challenging big names like OpenAI, DeepSeek is making AI better for everyone.
The race between Chinese startups like DeepSeek and Silicon Valley giants has just started. But one thing is clear: DeepSeek AI is here to stay.