"Also Used by BYD"... The 'Deepseek Craze' Sweeping China

Private and State-Owned Companies Begin Adopting DeepSeek AI Models

Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD and other Chinese companies are actively adopting artificial intelligence (AI) models developed by domestic startup DeepSeek.

On the 12th (local time), US CNBC reported that more than eight Chinese automobile companies, nine financial and securities firms, three state-owned telecommunications companies, and smartphone manufacturer Honor, among others, began integrating DeepSeek's model into their products last week.

BYD announced on the 10th at its smart strategy presentation that it would apply DeepSeek's AI software to its vehicles. Automakers believe that utilizing DeepSeek's AI model can further enhance voice command functions during driving.

Chinese cloud computing operators such as Alibaba, Huawei, Tencent, and Baidu are providing DeepSeek's latest AI models to their clients.

DeepSeek shocked the US big tech industry, which has invested astronomical amounts in AI development, by launching the low-cost, high-performance AI model 'R1' on the 20th of last month. The open-source nature, allowing anyone to modify the base code, also attracted attention.

With China facing difficulties in purchasing expensive Nvidia chips due to US export restrictions, Chinese companies are gaining competitiveness through open-source methods. Companies find it more efficient to download DeepSeek and customize it.

Li Qin from the think tank Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) stated, "In sectors such as finance, banking, and healthcare, which are subject to stringent information protection regulations, companies are developing AI applications using DeepSeek's open-source approach." He added, "Because DeepSeek's model is inexpensive, it is putting price pressure on other AI models with higher usage fees, which is also increasing corporate AI adoption."

The Chinese government is also supporting this trend. On the 11th, China's National Supercomputing Network announced that it would provide qualified individuals and companies with three months of free access to DeepSeek products (API).

In China, not only DeepSeek R1 but also other AI models such as Alibaba's 'Q1', ByteDance's 'Doubao', Baidu's 'Ernie Bot', and Moonshot's 'Kimi' are competing to capture the market.

However, there is cautious skepticism about how much generative AI can improve productivity and profitability. Mike Pang, an analyst at market research firm Gartner, said, "Despite the price reductions of AI models, small and medium-sized enterprises will still remain cautious." He explained that fully implementing AI through computing operations or customization still involves relatively high costs.