China Future Tech webinar | How China’s open-source movement changed the landscape of AI
A deep dive into China’s open-source AI revolution involving DeepSeek, Alibaba
Chinese artificial intelligence companies are charting a different course from their Silicon Valley counterparts by embracing open-source AI, enabling developers worldwide to freely use and contribute to their models.
In the latest China Future Tech webinar, South China Morning Post technology editor Zhou Xin, senior correspondent William Zheng, and tech reporters Ben Jiang and Danielle Popov addressed questions about China’s open-source movement and its impact on the global AI landscape.
How has the AI race developed since DeepSeek’s release of its V3 and R1 models?
Chinese tech companies, previously focused on developing proprietary large language models (LLMs), shifted strategies after DeepSeek made headlines with the release of its V3 model in December and R1 reasoning model in January. They are now engaged in fierce competition to deliver open-source models with much improved capabilities to market.
Despite that shift, the US continues to hold a clear lead in AI development, having the most sophisticated chips, algorithms, talent and capital market. Meanwhile, China is leveraging open source to scale its AI ecosystem to compete more effectively.