DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, is experiencing growing demand for its AI services, particularly in healthcare, aided by its R1 reasoning model. Recently, its revenues covered operational costs for the first time. However, despite this growth, the CEO is reportedly uninterested in commercial partnerships, allowing competitors like Alibaba and Tencent to capture the market. This strategic focus on AI development raises concerns regarding sustainability and long-term profitability as large tech firms gain traction with more robust offerings.
The Chinese company has seen increased demand for its services through both its free website, app, and from paying business customers. Last month, for the first time, revenues were sufficient to cover ongoing costs, reports the Financial Times based on two sources with knowledge of the developments.
DeepSeek popular in healthcare. Interest in DeepSeek grew after the introduction of its cost-effective R1 reasoning model. This model performs similarly to U.S. and Chinese competitors but was developed with a much smaller budget.
According to industry experts, the CEO has shown little intention to leverage DeepSeek's sudden fame to further commercialize the technology in the short term. The company is focusing most of its resources on developing AI models and the search for artificial general intelligence.
His lack of commercial ambition has allowed large technology companies such as Alibaba and Tencent to win over business customers in China with their more mature infrastructure and services.
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