DeepSeek, Deep State or Deep Pockets? Karen Hao on China’s AI Power Play

China's DeepSeek has done what it does best, it's made a better copy of an American product. Deepseek has disrupted the markets this week and is almost outperforming OpenAI while spending as little as one hundredth of the cost. In a world where Silicon Valley has long operated under a “winner takes all” model, DeepSeek’s breakthrough proves that sheer financial power is no longer the defining factor in technological supremacy. It's more than a story about AI, it's about geopolitics, economic power shifts, and how constraints fuel innovation. As the U.S. scrambles to maintain dominance, pouring billions into AI infrastructure and tightening restrictions on China, has it inadvertently made its biggest competitor stronger? What does this mean for Nvidia, OpenAI, and the entire American tech ecosystem? And if AI can now be built cheaper and faster, why are U.S. companies still demanding more money, more energy, and more control?

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