“The release of DeepSeek AI by a Chinese company should be a wake-up call to our industries, because we need to focus on competing to win. Because we have the greatest scientists in the world, even the leaders of China tell me that. They say you have the greatest scientists in the world,” President Trump said while flying back to Washington DC on Air Force One on January 27.

The US has tried to block China’s progress in AI through regulations banning the export of advanced chips and semiconductor technology, but the progress of DeepSeek, an AI startup founded in 2023, raises questions about the effectiveness of these measures.

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President Donald Trump said DeepSeek is a "wake-up call" for American industries. Photo: Bloomberg

Mr. Trump said he had read about DeepSeek and considered their breakthrough a “good thing” and “positive” because it did not cost as much to get the same results.

Earlier, he gave a speech in Florida, where he said he would increase tariffs on specific sectors such as semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum and copper. “We will protect our people and businesses and we will protect our country with tariffs,” the US President affirmed.

DeepSeek’s sudden rise has sent global stock markets reeling. Nvidia, the world’s largest chipmaker, has seen nearly $600 billion wiped off its market capitalization. Trump has argued that tariffs would help the U.S. maintain and build cutting-edge chips on American soil rather than the subsidy program proposed by former President Joe Biden.

DeepSeek's latest model is shocking, as independent tests show it competes just as well with expensive models from OpenAI and Meta.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman welcomed the Chinese startup’s arrival in a post on X, calling the R1 model “impressive,” especially given its modest cost. He also promised that the company would deliver much better models and would be “invigorated” by the new competition.

(According to Bloomberg)