AI ecosystems in China and US grow apart amid tech war
China's startup DeepSeek optimizes its next-gen model for homegrown hardware, bypassing US sanctions.
Deep Dive
DeepSeek launched its V4 AI models on April 24, optimized for use with Huawei's Ascend chips and software tools, highlighting how China and the United States are taking divergent paths in AI development as China pursues technological self‑reliance.
Key Points
- DeepSeek launched V4 models on April 24, optimized exclusively for Huawei's Ascend chips.
- The models use Huawei's CANN software tools instead of Nvidia's dominant CUDA platform.
- US export controls on Nvidia A100/H100 chips are forcing Chinese AI firms to adopt domestic alternatives.
Why It Matters
A permanent US-China AI hardware split means slower global progress and forced redundancy for multinational AI deployments.