Deepseek: The Chinese AI start-up that is making the USA fear

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung Deepseek: The Chinese AI start-up that is making the USA fear Gustav Theile • 1 hour • 2 minutes reading time In China, the AI ​​start-up that is currently shaking up the global tech world and has destroyed more than a trillion euros in market value has a nickname that stands for maximum frugality: Deepseek is the Pinduoduo (PDD) of the AI ​​industry, it is said again and again. You have to know that PDD is the low-cost platform for Chinese online retail and the parent company behind the shopping app Temu. Deepseek's development costs are much lower than those of its Chinese and global competitors, and the company has repeatedly fueled the price war among Chinese AI providers. Behind the company is Liang Wenfeng, one of the brightest minds in the Chinese financial world. Unlike many other representatives of the Chinese AI world, his career is not characterized by stints in large corporations or foreign companies. Liang was born in 1985 and has built up the quant fund High-Flyer over the past decade, which at times managed more than 100 billion renminbi yuan, the equivalent of more than 13 billion euros. He earned his money with algorithms that invested more intelligently than the many emotional small investors in China. Deepseek did not initially respond to a request from the FAZ. Smart developer and advocate of algorithms Liang is described in articles in Chinese business media as a particularly smart developer who excelled in the university entrance exam, which is extremely important in China. He then studied at Zhejiang University in the digital stronghold of Hangzhou. The university is one of the best in the country, and his companies are still based in Hangzhou today. Liang is known for his particularly fundamental reliance on algorithms. He once caused a stir by arguing that only funds in which algorithms make investment decisions are real quantitative funds. Sales panic due to DeepSeek - China startup triggers nasty crash in AI stocks Liang's team at Deepseek is not large so far. According to Chinese reports, the company has fewer than 200 employees. However, the entrepreneur is on an expansion course. 66 positions are currently being advertised on the Chinese job platform Zhipin, with basic salaries ranging from 1,500 to almost 12,000 euros per month. Liang caused a stir a few months ago when Deepseek was one of the lesser-known companies that had bought more than 10,000 newer Nvidia chips before the US government banned their export to the People's Republic. Despite the success with Deepseek, the past year was not easy for Liang. After a crisis on the Chinese stock market, the government took action against quant funds like high-flyers. Liang also recorded heavy losses as a result. However, he does not seem to have come into conflict with the Communist Party over this. Exactly a week ago, on the very day that Deepseek published its latest model, he took part in a symposium with China's Premier Li Qiang. Liang rarely speaks publicly, but when he does, he calls for self-confidence in the Chinese AI industry and basic research. Moore's Law, which describes the rapid development of computer chips and their computing power, is the result of "tireless work by generations of Western-led development teams," he said. China should stop being a free rider. "China must have someone who is at the forefront of technology." These statements make it clear that Liang is not only interested in financial profit, but that he is on a mission. It looks as if he is succeeding.