User Exodus Accelerates Amid Delays in R2 Release
and Ongoing Quality Controversies
There are observations that DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) company, has seen a sharp decline in usage rates and downloads just six months after its launch, signaling that its initial explosive popularity has subsided.
According to local media such as Economic Observer on July 25, the semiconductor and AI analysis firm SemiAnalysis reported that DeepSeek's usage rate has dropped from 7.2% at the beginning of this year to about 3% now. According to the data analytics platform QuestMobile, DeepSeek's average monthly downloads have decreased by more than 72%, from approximately 81.11 million in the first quarter to about 22.58 million recently.
DeepSeek made a sensational debut in January this year, promoting itself as a 'low-cost, high-performance' AI model and quickly gained explosive attention. Amid intensifying US-China technological rivalry, it was also highlighted as a symbol of China's 'AI rise.'
However, after its launch, quality issues such as incorrect answers, delayed responses, and unstable service operations were raised. Additionally, the release of its next model, 'R2,' was delayed, which accelerated user attrition. The R2 model was originally scheduled for release in May, but as of now, it has been postponed without any official announcement.
Regarding DeepSeek's decline, some voices within China point to the weakness of the country's AI industry infrastructure. Concerns about China's AI ecosystem have been growing, especially after it was revealed that Manus, an AI assistant that gained attention following DeepSeek, has relocated its headquarters to Singapore.
On the other hand, some analysts argue that the decline in DeepSeek's usage rate is exaggerated. They point out that DeepSeek is often used through external search services such as Baidu and Tencent, as well as in autonomous driving systems, in addition to its own platform. Therefore, the total usage is not fully reflected in the statistics. Founder Liang Wenfeng has stated that he prioritizes the long-term technological completeness of DeepSeek over short-term monetization or usage rates.
Bloomberg News predicted that DeepSeek would stand out among other companies at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference to be held in Shanghai from July 26 to 28. Although DeepSeek's official schedule and Liang Wenfeng's attendance have not been confirmed, it has been reported that representatives from major Chinese AI companies such as Tencent, ByteDance, ZhifuAI, and MoonshotAI will be attending in large numbers.
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