The speed at which the new application of the Chinese AI Deepseek has shaken the technological industry, the markets and the bullish sense of American superiority in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) were simply amazing.
The venture capital Marc Andreessen may have said it best. “Deepseek-R1 is the Spoutnik moment of Ai,” he posted on X on Sunday, referring to the satellite which launched the space race.
Deepseek was the most downloaded free application on the Apple App Store during the weekend. On Monday, the new IA chatbot sparked a massive sale of main technological actions that were in free fall while fears were showing up on American leadership in the sector.
The actions of the designer of fleas AI and Wall Street Darling Nvidia, for example, had plunged 17% when the American markets closed on Monday. Or to put it in even more striking terms, it has lost nearly $ 600 billion in market value which, according to Bloomberg, is the greatest drop in the history of the American stock market.
This frightening extraordinary and historical can be largely attributed to something as simple as the cost. And an assertion of Deepseek developers who sparked serious questions in Silicon Valley.
While Chatgpt -Maker Openai was hemorragious money – spending $ 5 billion last year only – Deepseek developers say it has built the last model for only $ 5.6 million.
It is a small fraction of the cost on which the giants of the AI like Openai, Google and Anthropic relied on developing their own models.
While this dramatic moment for the sector took place, there was a palpable silence in many corners of Silicon Valley when I contacted those who are generally happy to speak. Many observers, investors and analysts have appeared amazed.
Some wondered if it marked an opportunity to buy. Others questioned the information that Deepseek provided.
“I always think that the truth is below the surface when it comes to what is going on,” said Monday the veteran analyst Gene Munster. He interviewed the Financials Deepseek quoted and wondered if the startup was subsidized or if its number was correct.
The chatbot is “surprisingly good, which makes belief difficult,” he said.
Anyway, the sudden arrival of Deepseek is a “flex” of China and a “black eye for American technology”, to use its own words.
It was just last week, after all, that Sam Altman from Openai and Larry Ellison d’Oracle joined President Donald Trump for a press conference that could really have been a press release.
The event represented an American spark point on AI.
They announced Stargate, a joint venture which promises up to $ 500 billion in private investment for IA infrastructure: Data Centers in Texas and beyond, as well as 100,000 new promised jobs.
The United States seemed to think that its abundant data centers and its most high-end chips have given it a dominant advance in AI, despite the domination of China in rare metals and engineering talents .
Some even considered it as a fatal conclusion that America dominates the AI breed, despite certain high -level warnings of senior executives who have declared that the country’s benefits should not be taken for granted.
The United States can still continue to order the sector, but there is a feeling that Deepseek has shaken part of this boastful.
Trump’s words after the sudden emergence of the Chinese application in recent days were probably cold comfort for Altman and Ellison. He described this moment as “awakening” for the American technology industry, and said that finding a way to make a cheaper AI is ultimately a “good thing”.
It should also be noted that it is not only the technological actions that took a blow on Monday. Energy stocks have done it too. The arrival of Deepseek on the stage has upset many hypotheses that we have long held on what it takes to develop AI.
Perhaps the nuclear renaissance – including the once again putting the energy plant on the island of three American miles – will not be necessary. Maybe it doesn’t take as much capital, calculation and power after all.
For the moment, the future of the giants of semiconductors like Nvidia remains uncertain.
Deepseek claims that its model has been developed with existing technology as well as open source software that can be used and shared by anyone for free.
But Wired reports that for years, the founder of the founder of Deepseek, Liang Wenfung, High Flyer stored the chips that form the backbone of AI – called GPU or graphics processing units.
The company said its models have deployed H800 chips manufactured by Nvidia. American policy restricting more powerful flea sales in China could obtain a second aspect under the new Trump administration.
Sam Altman of Openai was mainly silent on Monday. But very late in the day, he wrote that Deepseek was “impressive … especially around what they are able to deliver for the price”.
“We will obviously provide much better models and it is also legitimate invigorating to have a new competitor!” He wrote.
It was Sputnik who really inaugurated the space era. There too, the United States was caught off guard. The way in which its technological sector reacts to this apparent surprise from a Chinese company will be interesting – and it may have added a serious fuel to the AI race.
