Pat Gelsinger Endorses DeepSeek Over OpenAI for His Startup

Recently, DeepSeek received a significant boost in credibility as former CEO Pat Gelsinger announced that he is transitioning his startup's technology from OpenAI to DeepSeek.

DeepSeek has made a remarkable entrance into the tech and AI landscape by showcasing an AI model that rivals some of the best offerings from OpenAI, but at a considerably lower cost, estimated between $3-$5 million. What’s even more noteworthy is that the startup has leveraged the Nvidia H800 chips, which are specifically designed to meet US export regulations and hence provide performance that is lower than Nvidia’s premier chips.

This unexpected success from a Chinese startup has prompted many questions within the AI industry. One of the main considerations is whether US companies are overvalued and if we might be nearing a burst of the AI bubble. Additionally, there are concerns about the effectiveness of US sanctions against Chinese firms, particularly in light of DeepSeek's achievements using these less powerful chips.

Beyond technical and political discussions, DeepSeek is accumulating a growing base of supporters and users, with Gelsinger leading the charge. He recently expressed, via X, the transformative significance of DeepSeek’s accomplishments.

Gelsinger highlighted three vital lessons from the past of computing, which DeepSeek exemplifies:

1. Computing follows the gas law. By making AI significantly cheaper, the market for it will broaden. Current market perceptions may underestimate this shift, which can lead to a much wider AI deployment.
2. Engineering thrives on constraints. Facing limited resources, the engineers from China have had to innovate and develop creative solutions.
3. Open Wins. DeepSeek is contributing to the reopening of the often ^closed foundational AI model landscape. Gelsinger extended gratitude to the DeepSeek team.

In an interview with TechCrunch, Gelsinger disclosed that his startup, Gloo, is integrating DeepSeek’s R1 model rather than relying on OpenAI's o1.

He stated, “My Gloo engineers are running R1 today,” indicating a definitive shift as the team had only been able to access o1 through APIs.

Gelsinger expressed optimism about how DeepSeek can facilitate the development of more reasonably priced AI, which can be used in a variety of devices. He stated, “I want better AI in my Oura Ring. I want better AI in my hearing aid. I want more AI in my phone. I want better AI in my embedded devices, like the voice recognition in my EV.”

If Gelsinger's enthusiasm is any indicator, DeepSeek’s influence on the AI and tech sectors could potentially be much more profound than critics anticipate.

DeepSeek, OpenAI, Pat Gelsinger