China’s tech startup DeepSeek charged onto the scene earlier this year, roiling markets and becoming a household name practically overnight. The performance and design efficiency of the company’s open-source artificial intelligence chatbot took many investors, security analysts, and Western policymakers by surprise. Indeed, it left many scratching their heads and wondering: Do we need to rethink our approach to beating China in the AI race?
It’s a fair question.
Before throwing out our playbook, however, it is important to assess what DeepSeek’s recent success is and what it is not. Some reporters and essayists have posited that the company’s rise signals the downfall of American tech might and a shift away from the innovation power structure our nation has been cultivating for decades. These fears are overblown. Reports are already surfacing that DeepSeek’s R1 model…
