Ex-Google Chief Labels DeepSeek a 'turning point' in AI Competition
Former Google CEO identifies DeepSeek as a pivotal moment in the AI race.
TroibNews 
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt characterized the emergence of DeepSeek as "a turning point" in the global race for artificial intelligence.
He highlighted that China's capacity to rival Big Tech with limited resources underscores the urgent necessity for the United States to amplify its open-source AI endeavors. Schmidt advocated for increased funding in AI infrastructure and initiatives like Stargate and urged prominent research laboratories to collaborate by sharing their training methodologies.
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek is a Chinese AI enterprise that gained attention when it unveiled its latest model, DeepSeek-R1, in January 2025. This model has garnered significant interest due to its advanced reasoning skills.
DeepSeek-R1 allegedly matches the performance of top AI systems, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, while incurring only a fraction of the developmental costs.
The introduction of DeepSeek-R1 created ripples in the tech industry, leading to a noticeable drop in the stock prices of major players such as Microsoft, Meta, and Nvidia on Monday.
Analysts linked the subsequent market rebound to bargain hunting and renewed confidence in the long-term profitability of AI, even in light of DeepSeek's recent disruptions.
"Today's recovery is to be anticipated given the magnitude of yesterday's selloff," remarked Cody Acree, a chip industry analyst at Benchmark Company. "Everything was taken down en masse without much foresight into each company's exposure."
Although some skepticism surrounded DeepSeek's cost claims, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman referred to the company as an "impressive model."
"We will obviously deliver much better models and also it's legit invigorating to have a new competitor!" Altman stated in a social media post.
Schmidt underscored the significance of open-source development as a response to DeepSeek's progress, calling for the United States to encourage collaboration, cultivate competitive AI solutions, and respond to the evolving dynamics of global AI competition.
Anna Muller for TROIB News
He highlighted that China's capacity to rival Big Tech with limited resources underscores the urgent necessity for the United States to amplify its open-source AI endeavors. Schmidt advocated for increased funding in AI infrastructure and initiatives like Stargate and urged prominent research laboratories to collaborate by sharing their training methodologies.
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek is a Chinese AI enterprise that gained attention when it unveiled its latest model, DeepSeek-R1, in January 2025. This model has garnered significant interest due to its advanced reasoning skills.
DeepSeek-R1 allegedly matches the performance of top AI systems, including OpenAI's ChatGPT, while incurring only a fraction of the developmental costs.
The introduction of DeepSeek-R1 created ripples in the tech industry, leading to a noticeable drop in the stock prices of major players such as Microsoft, Meta, and Nvidia on Monday.
Analysts linked the subsequent market rebound to bargain hunting and renewed confidence in the long-term profitability of AI, even in light of DeepSeek's recent disruptions.
"Today's recovery is to be anticipated given the magnitude of yesterday's selloff," remarked Cody Acree, a chip industry analyst at Benchmark Company. "Everything was taken down en masse without much foresight into each company's exposure."
Although some skepticism surrounded DeepSeek's cost claims, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman referred to the company as an "impressive model."
"We will obviously deliver much better models and also it's legit invigorating to have a new competitor!" Altman stated in a social media post.
Schmidt underscored the significance of open-source development as a response to DeepSeek's progress, calling for the United States to encourage collaboration, cultivate competitive AI solutions, and respond to the evolving dynamics of global AI competition.
Anna Muller for TROIB News
