DeepSeek Chinese AI chatbot sparks market turmoil for rivals

Its surge in popularity has seen it become the top-rated free app on Apple's App Store.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatch LiveHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsArts in MotionTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersChinese AI chatbot DeepSeek sparks market turmoil2 hours agoPeter Hoskins & Imran Rahman-JonesBusiness & technology reportersGetty ImagesShares in major US technology firms have fallen steeply in value in response to the sudden emergence of a low-cost chatbot built by a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm.

The DeepSeek app, which was launched last week, has overtaken rivals including ChatGPT to become the most downloaded free app in the United States.

Shares in US-based and AI-related tech firms such as Nvidia, Microsoft and Meta were all down on Monday ahead of the US markets opening.

The chatbot was reportedly developed for a fraction of the cost of its rivals - raising questions about the future of America's AI dominance and the scale of investments US firms are planning.

It is powered by the open source DeepSeek-V3 model, which its researchers claim was developed for less than $6m (£7.5m) - significantly less than the billions spent by rivals.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0qw7z2v1pgo

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