On the Apple App Store, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek outperforms ChatGPT.

Despite its quick ascent, little much is known about the business, which has quickly come to represent China's increasing artificial intelligence capabilities.

As of Monday, January 27, just over two weeks after its introduction, Chinese AI firm DeepSeek apparently surpassed ChatGPT to become the most popular free software on Apple's software Store in the US.

According to app data analytics company Sensor Tower, after its January 10 release, its AI Assistant—which is based on the DeepSeek-V3 model—has seen tremendous growth. According to DeepSeek creators, the DeepSeek-V3 model competes with some of the most cutting-edge closed-source models in the world and performs better than many open-source models.

This accomplishment challenges US dominance in the sector and calls into doubt the efficacy of Washington's export curbs intended to limit China's access to cutting-edge semiconductor technology and AI advancements. It also represents a significant development in the current global artificial intelligence race.

DeepSeek's breakthrough raises the possibility that China's AI advancements may not be as limited as previously believed, despite the previous Joe Biden administration's 2021 efforts to stop US-made chips from entering the country.

According to a news agency Reuters article, DeepSeek researchers stated that the DeepSeek-V3 model was trained using Nvidia's H800 CPUs, with training expenses coming to less than $6 million.

Although this assertion has been challenged, the US IT industry is skeptical of the effectiveness of such controls because the chips were allegedly less sophisticated than those that were the focus of US export prohibitions.

Although several Chinese tech companies have released AI models since its founding in Hangzhou in 2023, DeepSeek is the first to be recognized in the US for matching or even outperforming the top US AI models.

Despite its quick ascent, little much is known about the business, which has quickly come to represent China's increasing artificial intelligence capabilities.