Did the upstart Chinese tech company DeepSeek copy ChatGPT to make the artificial intelligence technology that shook Wall Street this week?

Previously little-known Chinese startup DeepSeek has dominated headlines and app charts in recent days thanks to its new AI chatbot, which sparked a global tech sell-off that wiped billions off Silicon Valley’s biggest companies and shattered assumptions of America’s dominance of the tech race.

DeepSeek’s AI products have shaken up the American stock market and tech industry—but some experts are questioning how big of a threat the Chinese company really is.

At a supposed cost of just $6 million to train, DeepSeek’s new R1 model, released last week, was able to match the performance on several math and reasoning metrics by OpenAI’s o1 model – the outcome of tens of billions of dollars in investment by OpenAI and its patron Microsoft.

The Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek has rattled markets with claims its latest AI model performs on a par with those of OpenAI, despite using less advanced, more energy efficient compute

The 40-year-old founder of China's DeepSeek, an AI startup that has startled markets with its capacity to compete with industry leaders like OpenAI, kept a low profile as he built up a hedge fund that now manages a reported $8 billion in assets.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

The man who founded DeepSeek, the artificial intelligence company that rattled the U.S. stock market, is 40-year-old Liang Wenfeng, a former hedge fund manager who said he shifted into tech to close the gap between China and the U.S. in the AI industry.

China’s AI chatbot DeepSeek has sparked controversy for its refusal to discuss sensitive topics like the Tiananmen Square massacre and territorial disputes. Its advanced capabilities, attributed to possible reverse-engineering of US AI models,

Chinese bloggers, state media and local citizens have welcomed DeepSeek's global success with pride and glee, with some saying the homegrown AI startup's meteoric rise is a sign China is beating back Washington's attempts to contain the country's tech industry.