DeepSeek Shakes Up AI, Forcing Big Tech to Step Up
DeepSeek has everyone on their toes. Just last week, Google launched Gemini 2.0 Flash, and now they've suddenly rolled out three new models, declaring the official dawn of the Gemini 2.0 era. Meanwhile, OpenAI, clearly spurred by DeepSeek, rushed to release o3-mini, followed quickly by deep research, which they claim will replace human analysts. What's next? We're likely looking at Llama 4, Grok 3, and Claude 4 waiting in the wings.
AI's Power Struggle: Can Any Country Keep Up with the U.S. and China?
The DeepSeek effect, much like a catalyst, has visibly accelerated the pace of AI iteration.
While the development pace is quickening, the global AI landscape has taken clear shape. A glance at the LLM leaderboard shows the top 20 spots dominated by American and Chinese models. In the race to develop foundational large language models, other countries are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up.
Over the past two years, we've seen promising challengers emerge (and they're still around) like Europe's Mistral and the Middle East's Falcon, but as time progresses, they've gradually fallen behind the US and China.
Developing proprietary LLMs ultimately requires three critical elements: concentrated capital, abundant AI talent, and sustained investment. Beyond the US and China, few countries have proven capable of maintaining an ecosystem that supports all three. If we were to add a fourth crucial element, it would be "having homegrown tech giants" – these companies significantly enhance a nation's ability to attract both capital and talent.
The strategy for other countries is straightforward: build on the shoulders of these giants rather than trying to become giants themselves.
AI Democratization is Accelerating—Can Open-Source and Closed-Source Coexist?
Moreover, DeepSeek's disruptive influence is widening the path toward AI democratization. This isn't just pushing Big Tech to race ahead in maintaining their closed-source AI model dominance – more importantly, it's inspiring developers worldwide to join the AI democratization movement. This represents a crucial turning point that every organization, business, and individual should recognize and leverage.
Closed-source and open-source will inevitably coexist – it's not about winners and losers. As long as commerce exists, there will be closed-source solutions; as long as people strive for inclusivity and altruism, open-source will thrive. These two approaches typically interweave to form comprehensive strategies.
Moving forward, while keeping an eye on closed-source AI model developments, the key question becomes: what are Big Tech's new strategies for open source? I believe we'll see the answers emerge soon.
(This article is translated from a Facebook post by Sega Cheng, co-founder and CEO of iKala.)
