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It seems that China really appreciates DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence technologies. So much so that their creators have been banned from leaving the country. It also became known about the company’s future plans.
Source The Information reports, citing anonymous sources, that DeepSeek’s owner, the hedge fund High-Flyer, has taken away the passports of some of its key employees. According to the site’s interlocutors, this was done to prevent the leakage of confidential information that may constitute commercial or even state secrets.
The Chinese government is said to be checking potential investors in the company. This comes a few weeks after reports of the Chinese government ordering artificial intelligence researchers and entrepreneurs to avoid traveling to the United States.
Meanwhile, Financial Times spoke about some of DeepSeek’s plans. The company is focused on developing two new models, R2 and V4. It is also on the way to creating general artificial intelligence (AGI). Allegedly, Chinese billionaire Liang Wenfeng, founder and CEO of Deepseek and owner of High-Flyer, has a very original approach to the company’s development, unlike Western competitors.
«They are clearly not interested in scaling up right now. It’s a rare situation where the founder is wealthy and committed enough to maintain a Navy Seal-style economy for his pursuit of AGI»,” one industry official told the Financial Times.
It is claimed that if Deepseek’s future needs exceed the available data center capacity, the company will rely on third-party suppliers instead of purchasing equipment. The Chinese government also supports the company by providing access to state-funded data centers. Currently Deepseek’s revenues fully cover current expenses.
According to Financial Times sources, Deepseek has about 160 employees — significantly fewer than the 2000 or so at OpenAI. The team is focused on developing R2 and V4 models, which are currently scheduled for release in May. However, sources say that the development of «may be accelerated to keep the momentum of».
