Ad tech players see potential in the Chinese startup DeepSeek's open-source R1 model as a way to develop AI offerings independent of dominant companies like Google and Meta. Chris Vanderhook of Viant recalled the market monopoly Google established, making it difficult for smaller players. Concerns remain about the safety and effectiveness of DeepSeek's model for U.S. companies, yet the democratization of AI suggests that firms could soon create their own models, emphasizing data quality and transparency. There are also data privacy benefits to local hardware processing of open-weight models.
The open web has spent years competing for crumbs against companies like Google and Meta. But now, some ad tech players say the Chinese startup DeepSeek creates a new chance to build their own AI offerings beyond the walled gardens.
Viant, which has its own AI-powered adtech offering called Viant AI, is already thinking about various ways to not just innovate using open-source models like R1.
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