Analysts are calling the recent release of Chinese AI models including DeepSeek ‘coordinated psyops’

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DeepSeek, until recently a little-known Chinese AI startup, shook up the U.S. tech industry over the weekend when it unveiled a cutting-edge large-language AI model that could compete with the big guns like OpenAI, but at a fraction of OpenAI’s budget. 

The tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 3% Monday, and AI chipmaker Nvidia alone lost almost $600 billion as DeepSeek’s cheaper and similarly capable model led investors to question the amount of capital that has been poured into AI development.