AI Glossary

What is DeepSeek?

Insta's plain English

A Chinese AI lab that shook the industry by matching top models at much lower cost — and releasing open-weight versions.

DeepSeek is a Chinese AI lab known for building high-performing models at a fraction of the compute cost of Western rivals, and for releasing open-weight models.

The full picture

DeepSeek rattled the AI world by showing that competitive frontier-level models could be trained far more cheaply than assumed, and by releasing capable open-weight models that anyone can run. Its V3 and R1 models drew rare praise from Western engineers.

Backed by major Chinese investors and optimised to run on domestically available chips, DeepSeek represents a credible, cost-efficient challenger to US AI dominance. For businesses, it widens the field of viable model providers and intensifies price pressure across the market — though data-governance and geopolitical considerations factor into adoption.

📌 Real business example

A cost-conscious team benchmarks an open-weight DeepSeek model against a pricier closed API for a coding task, finding it strong enough to handle the bulk of work at a fraction of the cost.

How different roles use this

Technical lead

Evaluates DeepSeek models as cost-efficient alternatives for suitable workloads.

Executive

Tracks DeepSeek as evidence that capable AI is getting cheaper and more competitive globally.

Compliance lead

Weighs data-governance and geopolitical factors before adopting a China-based provider.

Common questions

Q: Why is DeepSeek significant?

It demonstrated that top-tier AI models can be built far more cheaply than assumed and released capable open-weight versions — pressuring pricing and challenging Western AI leadership.

Q: Can businesses use DeepSeek models?

Yes, including self-hosting its open-weight models. Many organisations also weigh data-governance and geopolitical considerations as part of the decision.