The AI Showdown: OpenAI vs DeepSeek

Hi, AI Enthusiasts 👋

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock this week, you’ve probably heard about DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup that’s shaking things up.

In 2024, everyone was obsessed with OpenAI (and its “AI for all” vibe), but recently DeepSeek pulled off something that not a lot of people had thought would be possible so soon, and that is training their model for 90% less cash than their most prominent competitor! 😱

With these recent developments, the question on everyone’s mind is: which is the better AI company?, and is this matter just about who has the best tech?

Lemme unpack what’s going on. It’s everything from OpenAI v. DeepSeek, Nvidia, the US government’s loss and latest remark about AI.

Origins: Idealism Meets Industrial Pragmatism

The competition between OpenAI and DeepSeek isn’t just a battle of algorithms—it’s a collision of geopolitical strategies, funding models, and philosophical divides.

OpenAI was launched in 2015 as a nonprofit with a mission to democratise AI. It was co-founded by Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and a couple of other people. In 2018, Elon left the group over disagreements about commercialisation, leaving Sam Altman to steer the ship. It was also during this period that the company pivoted to become a “capped-profit” business model, in 2019. Although some things may have changed, its stated goal remains achieving safe AGI, but critics argue that its ties to Microsoft (through a $10 billion investment in 2023) has diluted its original altruism.

Despite being recently founded, DeepSeek seems to be rooted in China’s state-backed AI ecosystem. Emerging from stealth mode in 2023, it’s linked to Tsinghua University’s AI research labs and receives indirect funding via China’s National AI Major Project, which is a $15 billion initiative to dominate AI by 2030. Very much unlike OpenAI’s transparency rhetoric, DeepSeek operates under China’s 2022 mandate which requires AI firms to align with “core socialist values,” prioritising industrial utility over public discourse.

But their origin isn’t the only thing that sets them apart.

How about the funding that has helped to bring their vision to life or their AGI ambitions(assuming that’s the greater goal for both companies)? 🤔