DeepSeek disrupts the industry

A new open-source AI model from the Chinese company DeepSeek has sent shockwaves through the tech world, even impacting the market value of chip giant Nvidia.

While established companies grapple with the implications, smaller AI start-ups see DeepSeek’s emergence as a significant growth opportunity.

Several AI start-ups have told CNBC that DeepSeek’s arrival represents a “huge opportunity,” not a threat. This sentiment is echoed by Andrew Feldman, CEO of Cerebras Systems, an AI chip company that competes with Nvidia and offers cloud services.

“Developers are very excited about replacing closed, expensive OpenAI models with open-source models like DeepSeek R1,” Feldman said. He added that the launch of the R1 model has triggered a surge in demand for Cerebras’s services.

Feldman believes the AI market’s growth won’t be confined to a single company. “The growth of the AI market will not be limited to one company; the lines between hardware and software are blurring thanks to open-source models,” he noted.

The open-source nature of DeepSeek’s models, unlike those from companies like OpenAI, means the source code is publicly available for anyone to modify and redistribute, fostering collaboration and innovation within the AI community.