The Chinese tech firm DeepSeek is fast-tracking a successor to its original artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot model, R1, and could release it within the next two months, Reuters reports.
Citing anonymous sources, Reuters said DeepSeek had initially planned to launch the R2 model in early May, but now wanted it out as early as possible. The new version would reportedly produce better coding and be able to reason in languages beyond English.
According to Vijayasimha Alilughatta, chief operating officer of Indian tech services provider Zensar, the R2 model’s launch “could be a pivotal moment in the AI industry.” He said it would likely encourage US rivals – like OpenAI and Meta – to accelerate their own programmes and could break the “stranglehold of the few dominant players in the field.”
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The US government has clearly identified leadership in AI as a national priority. When DeepSeek burst onto the scene last month, with an open source product that cost a fraction of OpenAI’s ChatGPT to build, it disrupted the global industry and enhanced China’s reputation as an innovator in cutting-edge technology.
Reuters’ article shone a light on DeepSeek’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, who is known for keeping a low profile. Born in Guangdong Province in 1985, Liang earned communication engineering degrees at Zhejiang University and went on to become a billionaire through quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer. Liang, who founded DeepSeek in 2023, is known for his “flat management” style, willingness to collaborate with young staffers, and generous salaries compared with other Chinese tech companies.
Last week, President Xi Jinping invited leaders from several of the country’s most successful tech companies, including DeepSeek, to a symposium. The meeting appeared to signal that Beijing was softening its stance on China’s private sector in order to compete with the US.
