Chinese company DeepSeek is causing quite a stir in the artificial intelligence world.
With its free-to-use and cost-efficient model, the company's large language models are emerging as a serious challenger to ChatGPT and other generative AI platforms.
Here, we break down what you need to know about the new AI kid on the tech block.
How good and fast is DeepSeek?
DeepSeek's latest platform, introduced last week, is on a par with the fields top-tier models, including OpenAI's ChatGPT o1 and Anthropic's Claude 3.5 Sonnet. Proponents say it is better.
A key aspect in which DeepSeek has others beat is its speed. According to tests, it is nearly twice as fast as the top models. DeepSeek can process 60 tokens a second, compared to the 20 and 18 from GPT-4 and Meta Platforms' Llama, respectively.
Tokens in AI are the basic unit to calculate the length of text and can include punctuation marks and spaces, and vary from language to language. The bigger the token count, the more comprehensive the generated results are.
Is DeepSeek really free?
As it stands, DeepSeek is available anywhere in the world on the web and through app stores.
The free versions require a user to register by email, Google or a Chinese phone number, starting with the prefix +86, supported wherever you are.
Advanced users like developers who want to, for example, build chatbots, must pay for tokens.
But DeepSeek is really cost-efficient: you have to pay just $0.14 and $0.55 per million tokens for its V3 and R1 models, respectively, compared to ChatGPT's $15.
Top generative AI models have free services, but that won't give you access to their most premium features, such as higher creative output, mathematical equations and logical reasoning – things that DeepSeek offers.
Altogether, these higher level features attract users who want greater capabilities from their large language models without having to pay US prices for them.
DeepSeek’s entry “has already led to a shift in user sentiment as its more affordable solutions are quickly gaining popularity, drawing users away from established players … suggesting a potential shift in the competitive landscape”, Hassan Fawaz, chairman and founder of UK-based broker GivTrade, told The National.
It is unclear how many DeepSeek users there are. ChatGPT has more than 300 million weekly users, OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman said in December.
However, DeepSeek has exceeded ChatGPT as the top downloaded productivity app on the Apple App Store. Interest is so high that DeepSeek cannot be downloaded because of overwhelming demand and number of users. Its site was hit by a cyber attack on Monday blamed on the product's high profile.
How is DeepSeek able to offer its platform for free?
The simplest answer is by using a cost-efficient model. In other words, spending significantly less than the biggest names in generative AI.
Compared to OpenAI and Meta, who have been spending anywhere from tens of millions to billions training their large language models, DeepSeek was able to do the only with a reported $6 million, and in a significantly smaller time frame.
Although not officially claimed by DeepSeek, logic dictates that the company is able to offer its large language models for free as it does not need to pass on the costs of training and development to consumers. It is possible that the revenue they generate from paid tokens could be enough to fund them.
“By developing cutting-edge AI models with less advanced and more cost-efficient hardware, DeepSeek challenges the heavy investments US tech companies are pouring into high-cost AI infrastructure,” said Charu Chanana, chief investment strategist at Danish lender Saxo Bank.
It is unclear what DeepSeek's plans are, and it will not be a surprise if the company starts offering paid tiers.
Is DeepSeek safe?
At least one cyber security firm has voiced concerns about vulnerabilities on DeepSeek.
Kela, an Israel-based company, claims that DeepSeek can be “easily exploited”, and that it was able to jailbreak its model “across a wide range of scenarios, enabling it to generate malicious outputs, such as ransomware development, fabrication of sensitive content, and detailed instructions for creating toxins and explosive devices”.
DeepSeek has not responded to Kela's report.
What are the big names saying about DeepSeek?
DeepSeek's rise – it has even unseated ChatGPT on Apple's App Store over the weekend – caught everyone by surprise, prompting acknowledgement from key personalities.
US President Donald Trump said that DeepSeek is a “wake-up call” for US companies to do better. Mr Altman described it as “impressive” promising OpenAI will raise their game, while Meta, meanwhile, reportedly set up “war rooms” to counter DeepSeek's rise.
Meanwhile, AI chip leader Nvidia also gave DeepSeek compliments, calling R1 an “excellent AI advancement”. Its chief executive Jensen Huang, however, lost about $20 billion from his wealth, thanks to a tech sell-off triggered by DeepSeek's rise.
How much has DeepSeek wiped off markets?
With a sell-off in technology stocks on Monday, stocks and the wealth of tech bosses were hit hard. The Nasdaq Composite on Wall Street alone lost about $1 trillion on Monday, with Nvidia alone making up about $600 billion of that.
The wealth of tech moguls mostly tied to AI – Mr Huang, Oracle's Larry Ellison, Dell's Michael Dell and former Binance chief Changpeng Zhao – were the biggest losers, losing nearly $68 billion on Monday, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
“Nvidia's slump highlights the complexities of a constantly evolving tech market, where disruptive advancements can reshape the landscape in a few days,” said Antonio Di Giacomo, a senior market analyst at XS.com.
Even energy stocks felt the heat, going lower on fears that DeepSeek may cause a shift towards using less energy in running AI platforms.
Will DeepSeek reshape investment sentiment?
DeepSeek's cost-effective model has cast doubts over the splashy and expensive methods US companies employ in developing AI models.
The company is poised to challenge Silicon Valley’s leadership, disrupt the global tech landscape and reshape the direction of the AI arms race, said Nigel Green, chief executive of global financial advisory firm deVere Group.
“US Big Tech, long considered untouchable, is facing credible and intensifying competition from China. For investors, this is both a warning and an opportunity; it’s time to rethink traditional tech allocations and seek out new areas of growth,” he said.
Abdul Jabar Qahraman was meeting supporters in his campaign office in the southern Afghan province of Helmand when a bomb hidden under a sofa exploded on Wednesday.
The blast in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah killed the Afghan election candidate and at least another three people, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak told reporters. Another three were wounded, while three suspects were detained, he said.
The Taliban – which controls much of Helmand and has vowed to disrupt the October 20 parliamentary elections – claimed responsibility for the attack.
Mr Qahraman was at least the 10th candidate killed so far during the campaign season, and the second from Lashkar Gah this month. Another candidate, Saleh Mohammad Asikzai, was among eight people killed in a suicide attack last week. Most of the slain candidates were murdered in targeted assassinations, including Avtar Singh Khalsa, the first Afghan Sikh to run for the lower house of the parliament.
The same week the Taliban warned candidates to withdraw from the elections. On Wednesday the group issued fresh warnings, calling on educational workers to stop schools from being used as polling centres.
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
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PSG's line up
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Usain Bolt's time for the 100m at major championships
2008 Beijing Olympics 9.69 seconds
2009 Berlin World Championships 9.58
2011 Daegu World Championships Disqualified
2012 London Olympics 9.63
2013 Moscow World Championships 9.77
2015 Beijing World Championships 9.79
2016 Rio Olympics 9.81
2017 London World Championships 9.95
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
