India's IT Minister Lauds Chinese AI Startup DeepSeek for Challenging Costly AI Models
India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has hailed Chinese startup DeepSeek's innovative AI assistant, emphasizing its cost-effective approach as an inspiration for India's AI mission.
DeepSeek's groundbreaking AI model, developed at a mere cost of $6 million, has sparked a global reassessment of AI spending. Its low-cost approach leverages Nvidia's H800 chips, traditionally considered less advanced for AI training.
"DeepSeek demonstrates that substantial AI models can be created with frugal investments," said Vaishnaw. "Their success challenges the notion that China lags behind in AI."
Vaishnaw's comments implicitly counter previous skepticism from OpenAI's Sam Altman, who questioned the feasibility of an Indian team building a substantial AI model with a budget of $10 million. DeepSeek's achievements have reignited a debate about the accessibility of AI development.
Altman is scheduled to visit India again on February 5 amid ongoing legal disputes between OpenAI and Indian publishers over copyright infringements.