The AI industry is moving at breakneck speed, and major players are scrambling to stay ahead. DeepSeek, a rising AI company, is undercutting OpenAI by up to 40 times in cost, while Alibaba’s latest video AI model is outperforming OpenAI’s Sora. Meanwhile, concerns are mounting about AI’s persuasive capabilities. Let’s dive into these developments and what they mean for the future of AI.
DeepSeek’s Bold Move Against OpenAI
DeepSeek first shocked the industry in January with its R1 model, a powerful AI reasoning system that trained at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI’s models. While skeptics (including Google) questioned the claims, major tech players like Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, and GitHub quickly adopted R1.
Now, DeepSeek is preparing to launch R2, its successor, ahead of schedule—possibly before May. R2 promises better coding capabilities and improved multilingual reasoning, which could give it a significant edge in the global AI market.
But what really makes DeepSeek stand out? Cost. Analysts at Bernstein estimate that DeepSeek’s pricing is 20 to 40 times cheaper than OpenAI’s for similar performance, making it an attractive option for enterprises worldwide.
Who’s Behind DeepSeek?
DeepSeek’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, is a former hedge fund billionaire with a research-first approach. He runs the company more like a research lab than a typical startup, offering top-tier salaries and maintaining a more balanced work culture compared to traditional Chinese tech firms. His hedge fund, HighFlyer, invested heavily in AI years ago, securing thousands of NVIDIA A100 chips before U.S. restrictions took effect.
How Does DeepSeek Keep Costs Low?
DeepSeek’s efficiency comes from techniques like:
- Mixture of Experts (MoE): Dividing the model into specialized components, reducing the computational load.
- Multi-Head Latent Attention (MLA): Allowing the model to process different inputs simultaneously, improving efficiency.
Chinese corporations like Lenovo, BYD, and Tencent have already integrated DeepSeek into their products. However, Western governments are wary—South Korea and Italy have restricted DeepSeek-based apps over privacy concerns.
Alibaba’s Video AI Challenges OpenAI’s Sora
Alibaba recently introduced Open Source Video Foundation Model 1.2.1, which is outperforming OpenAI’s Sora on key benchmarks. This model is capable of:
- Text-to-video and image-to-video generation
- Video editing and video-to-audio capabilities
- Generating videos in 480p and 720p resolutions
What sets Alibaba’s model apart? Advanced architecture. It employs a 3D Causal VAE with a feature cache mechanism for speed, plus a diffusion transformer structure for better motion realism. Trained on 1.5 billion videos and 10 billion images, Alibaba’s AI is setting new standards in video AI technology.
OpenAI’s Latest Developments
Expanding Deep Research Tools
OpenAI recently expanded access to its Deep Research tool, which provides in-depth, resource-heavy AI-generated reports. Originally a $200/month feature, it’s now available to all paid ChatGPT users:
- Plus plan: 10 Deep Research queries/month
- Pro plan: 120 Deep Research queries/month
However, free-tier users won’t get access due to high resource demands.
AI Persuasion Risks
OpenAI is also being cautious about the persuasive capabilities of its Deep Research model. Recent tests showed that AI can effectively persuade users to perform actions like making payments or revealing code words. While not at human-level manipulation yet, OpenAI is pausing API rollout to further assess potential risks.
Advanced Voice Mode Preview
Good news for ChatGPT users—OpenAI is rolling out Advanced Voice Mode to free-tier users. This feature allows real-time, natural conversations, even letting users interrupt and pivot discussions on the fly. While there are daily usage limits, it marks a step toward more interactive AI.
Apple is rumored to be collaborating with OpenAI on AI-driven voice interactions for iPhones, but official details are yet to be confirmed.
The Future of AI: Who Will Dominate?
With DeepSeek undercutting OpenAI on price, Alibaba advancing video AI, and OpenAI refining its research tools, the AI landscape is shifting fast. The question remains—will DeepSeek challenge OpenAI’s dominance, or will U.S. tech giants push back harder?