Trump Says China’s DeepSeek a ‘Wake-Up Call’ for US Tech Companies

“Hopefully, the release of [DeepSeek] AI from a Chinese company should be a wake-up call for our industries. They need to be laser-focused on competing,” Trump said. “Because we have the greatest scientists in the world, even Chinese leadership told me that.” 

He suggested the news that an AI company outside the United States had managed to create a breakthrough that allowed for faster and cheaper training and processing was not expected. 

“This is very unusual when you hear a DeepSeek, when you hear somebody come up with something,” Trump said. “We always have the ideas, we’re always first.” 

Noting that reports of training costs—which the company claims totaled about $6 million, a mere fraction of the $100 million plus spent on some similar models developed in the United States in recent years—and other variables are unconfirmed, the president expressed cautious optimism that U.S. enterprises could harness the technology. 

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“If it’s fact, and if it’s true, and nobody really knows if it is, but I view that as a positive because you’ll be doing that too, and you won’t be spending as much, and you’ll get the same result, hopefully,” Trump said. “We’re going to unleash our tech companies, and we’re going to dominate the future like never before.” 

Some tech experts are comparing the news to other historical, technological breakthroughs that revolutionized industries.

In the days after the firm announced its advancements, financial market turmoil erupted in the tech sector.  

DeepSeek reportedly experienced overwhelming levels of registrations and a series of cyberattacks on Jan. 27 that caused the company to limit activity.

Given the financial and economic implications of disruptive technology, some lawmakers are calling for more attention to foreign trade standards with both allies and adversarial nations.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said during a briefing at the Republican retreat that addressing issues with China in relation to trade and national security is a matter of prime importance. 

“China is a terrible trading partner,” he said. “They abuse the system. They steal our intellectual property.” 

Highlighting the efforts underway with DeepSeek technology and other AI infrastructure under construction, he suggested the United States is preparing to counter perceived threats. 

“They’re now trying to get a leg up on us on AI, as you’ve seen in the last day or so,” Johnson said. “It’s a serious threat to us, and to our economy, and to our security in every way, so the president takes that seriously, and I think he will deal with that in an appropriate manner.”

There are also concerns over censorship.

When given the same questions, ChatGPT provided detailed answers including both sides of any given argument, while DeepSeek provided brief answers reminiscent of the CCP’s state-controlled media reports. It outright refused to answer questions about human rights.