DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence (AI) research lab in China, has cracked the ‘holy grail of AI models’ by achieving performance at par with the world’s best chatbots at a fraction of the cost. Last week,

DeepSeek researchers claim it was developed for less than $6 million, a contrast to the $100 million it takes U.S. tech startups to create AI.

Supported by the Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer, DeepSeek launched its DeepSeek-R1 large language model (LLM) on Jan. 20. Unlike ChatGPT’s subscription-based and closed-source platform, priced at $200 per month, DeepSeek-R1 is entirely open-source and free, allowing users to access, compile, and operate it on native hardware without limitations.

Investors dumped technology stocks in premarket trading Monday, sending U.S. indexes sharply lower after Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek demonstrated a chatbot that it says rivals the

Wall Street is tumbling on fears the big U.S. companies that have feasted on the artificial-intelligence frenzy are under threat from a competitor in China.