DeepSeek Releases AI Model Upgrade Against Growing Rivalry With OpenAI

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has released an upgraded version of its large language model, intensifying competition with U.S. AI firms like OpenAI. The new model, DeepSeek-V3-0324, was launched Tuesday on the AI development platform Hugging Face, with the company touting “significant improvements” in reasoning, coding, and Chinese language processing.

DeepSeek’s latest model builds on its V3 language model, which was introduced in December 2024 and ranked among the top 10 on Chatbot Arena, a performance benchmark hosted by the University of California, Berkeley. The new upgrade enhances front-end web development, improves Chinese writing proficiency with “interactive rewriting,” and strengthens Chinese-language search functions with enhanced report analysis.

“This update represents a major leap in efficiency and performance,” DeepSeek stated in a release, underscoring its ambitions to challenge dominant AI players like OpenAI and Meta.

By Ruvarashe Gora

The launch comes amid rising scrutiny of DeepSeek in the United States. In February, lawmakers introduced a bipartisan bill to ban the company’s AI products from federal devices, citing links to a Chinese state run telecommunications firm. Some U.S. agencies, including the Department of Defense and NASA, have already restricted access to DeepSeek’s AI tools over national security concerns.

Founded in 2023 by Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek has positioned itself as a cost-effective alternative to U.S. AI giants. The company claims it can train models at a fraction of the cost compared to OpenAI, with its latest training expenses estimated at $5.6 million, far less than the hundreds of millions reportedly required by its American competitors.

The upgraded model’s impact on global markets remains to be seen. Earlier this year, DeepSeek’s release of its R1 model, an advanced reasoning AI, triggered a sharp decline in U.S. tech stocks. Nvidia, which supplies critical AI chips, saw its stock plummet by 17% in January, erasing $589 billion in market value, the largest single day loss for any public company in history.

As DeepSeek continues to refine its AI models, the company’s rapid rise highlights China’s growing influence in artificial intelligence. Whether the latest upgrade will disrupt the market or lead to further regulatory pushback in the U.S. remains a key question in the evolving AI landscape.