Investing.com — Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis stated that Chinese artificial intelligence companies remain approximately six months behind leading Western laboratories in terms of frontier AI technology.
Speaking in an interview with Emily Chang at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Hassabis described the response to DeepSeek’s R1 model when it was released a year ago as a “massive overreaction.”
“They’re very good at kind of catching up to where the frontier is, and increasingly capable of that. But I think they’ve yet to show they can innovate beyond the frontier,” Hassabis said.
The Hangzhou-based startup DeepSeek made waves in the industry when it released its R1 reasoning model, which was developed at a significantly lower cost compared to its Silicon Valley competitors.
Hassabis acknowledged that DeepSeek’s model was “impressive,” particularly considering the constraints under which Chinese AI companies operate. These companies face significant limitations, including US restrictions preventing access to the most advanced semiconductors that are essential for developing and running AI systems.
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