For years, The United States has been the undisputed leader in artificial intelligence, especially with companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Meta, and more.

But China is challenging the U.S's monopoly when Chinese AI lab DeepSeek unveiled its large language model DeepSeek-V3 which shortly became the top-rated free app on Apple’s App Store in the United States, overtaking rival ChatGPT.

Powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model, the AI Assistant has rapidly gained popularity among U.S. users since its release on January 10, according to app data research firm Sensor Tower.

The model, which its creators claim “outperforms open-source competitors and rivals leading closed-source AI systems globally,” has drawn significant attention for its capabilities.

Challenging US Dominance in AI

DeepSeek’s success underscores a growing shift in the global AI landscape, challenging the long-standing belief in U.S. dominance in artificial intelligence. It also raises questions about the effectiveness of Washington’s export controls aimed at limiting China’s access to advanced chips and AI technologies.

Training advanced AI models like ChatGPT and DeepSeek requires cutting-edge chips. Since 2021, the Biden administration has expanded export bans to restrict Chinese companies from accessing these critical technologies.

However, in a research paper released last month, DeepSeek’s team revealed that the DeepSeek-V3 model was trained using Nvidia’s H800 chips and incurred costs of less than $6 million.

Although the specifics of this claim have been disputed, the use of chips less advanced than Nvidia’s top-tier products—those restricted by U.S. export controls—has sparked debate among American tech leaders about the real impact of these measures.

DeepSeek’s Rapid Ascent

Little is known about DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based startup founded in 2023, the same year Baidu unveiled China’s first large-language AI model.

While numerous Chinese companies have since launched their own AI systems, DeepSeek has emerged as the first Chinese model to earn widespread praise from U.S. tech experts for its ability to rival or surpass leading American models.

This achievement highlights not only DeepSeek’s technical innovation but also the changing dynamics of global AI development.

As Chinese startups like DeepSeek continue to break barriers, they are reshaping perceptions about China’s role in the AI race and challenging the effectiveness of export controls designed to maintain U.S. technological superiority.

DeepSeek’s rise may mark the beginning of a broader transformation in the AI industry, where innovation transcends geopolitical barriers, redefining global competition in artificial intelligence.