DeepSeek said it has upgraded the R1 artificial-intelligence model that helped propel the Chinese startup to global prominence earlier this year.
DeepSeek completed what it described as a “minor trial upgrade” and told users they can start testing it, according to a company representative’s post in an official WeChat group on Wednesday. The company didn’t provide details about the upgrade and didn’t respond to an email seeking further comment.
The Hangzhou-based startup stunned the global tech industry in January when it unveiled the original R1, an AI model that outperformed Western players on several standardised metrics, purportedly at a cost of just several million dollars. That triggered a rout in global tech stocks as investors questioned whether leading firms would still need to spend significant amounts to build AI services.
The debut of R1 turned founder Liang Wenfeng into a tech celebrity and a symbol of the country’s ability to compete with the best of Silicon Valley. It also set off a race to launch additional AI models in China.
In February, President Xi Jinping invited Liang to a high-profile gathering with some of the country’s most prominent entrepreneurs. The young founder was seated among the likes of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. co-founder Jack Ma and Tencent Holdings Ltd.’s Pony Ma.
DeepSeek’s upgrade was announced just hours before the latest financial report from Nvidia Corp., the leading maker of AI chips whose shares were pummeled in the January rout.
