The Rise of DeepSeek: Did ChatGPT Just Lose Its Job?

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If you thought the TikTok banning and unbanning fiasco was a big deal for tech, then this week’s developments in the AI race involving DeepSeek are a true fork in the road.

What is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek is an AI company founded in 2023 by Chinese entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng. Known for its flagship model, DeepSeek-R1, the company has quickly emerged as a disruptive force in the AI landscape. DeepSeek’s app recently became the most downloaded free app on the U.S. iOS App Store, even surpassing ChatGPT.

Why the Buzz Now?

DeepSeek is not just a trendy topic or a new player in the game. The reason this is so significant is that in a research paper, DeepSeek claimed to have used only a fraction of the computer chips that leading players like OpenAI, Google, and others relied on to train their systems. The world’s top companies typically train their chatbots with supercomputers that use as many as 16,000 chips or more. 

DeepSeek’s engineers said they only needed 2,000.

Is DeepSeek’s Model as Advanced as OpenAI, Google?

In short, yes. DeepSeek’s technology is on par with leading AI systems from OpenAI and Google in key areas like answering questions, solving logic problems, and writing code, based on benchmark tests. While OpenAI recently unveiled a more advanced reasoning model, called OpenAI o3, it has not been made publicly available. Initially, experts noted that DeepSeek lacked a comparable reasoning model, but on Jan. 20, when the company released DeepSeek R1, it quickly impressed industry leaders.

The Takeaways for Digital Marketing, Web Development, and More 

So, how does DeepSeek’s rapid rise and impact industries like ours? Here are three key takeaways for digital marketers, web developers, and branding experts:

  • AI is Becoming Even More Accessible: DeepSeek’s cost-efficient model development shows that more businesses can now explore AI solutions that were previously out of reach. This accessibility will enable small(er) brands to leverage their own custom AI for tasks like content generation, user behavior analysis, and personalized user experiences—all without breaking the bank. You still need resources, but we are seemingly past the era of only our biggest companies being able to create their own AI language models.

 

  • AI as an Open-Source Commodity: If you’re smart enough to create your own AI using much the same methods as DeepSeek, you might as well sell it to those who aren’t yet ready. And the good news is the playbook is out there, thanks to DeepSeek’s model being open-sourced, meaning the underlying code has been shared and distributed.

 

  • Global Competition Heating Up: DeepSeek’s rapid ascent signals the dawn of a new AI space race. For businesses, this global competition means staying ahead will require constant adaptation and testing of different versions of these models to see which perform best for you. At Fortress, we’re committed to staying up to date on these developments to ensure our clients are always equipped with the tools they need to thrive in a competitive landscape.

 

What’s Next?

As digital marketers and developers, it’s our job to take these advancements and make them practical and actionable for the businesses we serve.

DeepSeek’s story is more than a case study in technological innovation—it’s a reminder of the power of creativity and competition in shaping the future. By staying informed and proactive, all companies can harness the outcomes of this wave of innovation to achieve remarkable business results. 

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