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DeepSeek’s sudden rise should prompt American companies to come up with cheaper, faster platforms, the US president has said
President Donald Trump has described China’s DeepSeek AI as a significant “wake-up call” for US technology firms, highlighting its cost-effectiveness. He said American companies would need to intensify AI development to stay competitive.
Developed by Hangzhou-based startup DeepSeek Inc., the AI assistant of the same name was released last week and has since become the most popular program on Apple’s US App Store, surpassing US-based OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
The success comes despite the US usinng export controls to block Chinese firms from using advanced micro-chips. DeepSeek performs as well as its competitors on key benchmarks running on less advanced chips than that more expensive US and Indian-owned options.
Speaking in Florida on Monday, Trump commented on the app’s success, pointing to its faster and more cost-effective development. “That’s good because you don’t have to spend this much money. I view that as a positive, as an asset,” he said.
“The release of DeepSeek AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries that we need to be laser focused on competing to win,” he urged, adding that it should prompt rival US firms to come up with more cost-effective solutions.
“So instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less” to achieve the same results, the president said. Trump stated that the US has “the greatest scientists in the world” so it should not be hard for them to compete with DeepSeek.
US officials are divided on DeepSeek. David Sacks, Trump’s White House AI and cryptocurrency chief, shared Trump’s cautiously positive view, writing on X that it “shows that the AI race will be very competitive.” However, House Speaker Mike Johnson called the new AI “a serious threat,” accusing China of “abusing” the trade system and “stealing” US intellectual property.
Rep. John Moolenaar, the chair of the US House Select Committee on China, also alleged the app poses a threat to US national security and suggested Washington should look for a way to slow its spread.
“The US cannot allow CCP [Chinese Communist Party] models such as DeepSeek to risk our national security and leverage our technology to advance their AI ambitions. We must work to swiftly place stronger export controls on technologies critical to DeepSeek’s AI infrastructure,” he said.
