China, Feb 7 : Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has overtaken OpenAI’s ChatGPT to become the top-rated free app on Apple’s App Store in the United States, as of January 27, just over two weeks after its January 10 release, according to app data research firm Sensor Tower.
Developed by a Hangzhou-based startup, DeepSeek is powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model, which its creators claim outperforms many open-source AI models and rivals some of the world’s most advanced closed-source systems.
This rapid rise underscores China’s growing prowess in artificial intelligence, directly challenging U.S. dominance in the field. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of Washington’s export controls, designed to limit China’s access to advanced chip technologies essential for AI development.
DeepSeek researchers revealed that the model was trained on Nvidia’s H800 chips, with costs amounting to under $6 million. The chips reportedly fall below the technological threshold targeted by U.S. export restrictions, sparking skepticism within the American tech industry about the impact of these controls.
Despite the Biden administration’s measures, implemented since 2021 to curtail China’s access to cutting-edge semiconductor technology, DeepSeek’s success suggests that such efforts may be less effective than anticipated.
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek is one of several Chinese companies developing AI models. However, it is the first to achieve significant recognition in the U.S. market for competing with or surpassing the performance of leading American AI systems.
While the app’s success has made waves globally, little is known about the Hangzhou-based company, which has become a symbol of China’s advancing AI capabilities.
