DeepSeek Soars to $45B Valuation as China Mobilizes AI Funding

DeepSeek's leap to $45B valuation signals a pivotal moment in AI's geopolitical race: a Chinese lab has demonstrated that efficient LLMs can match US models while remaining open-source and dramatically cheaper to develop. By combining Huawei chips with optimized training methods, DeepSeek represents China's push for technological sovereignty in AI—fundamentally challenging the assumption that only well-funded U.S. labs can lead in frontier AI research.