DeepSeek 的後續是將進一步擴大中國在開源人工智能領域的影響力 (2/2)

Recently the New York Times reported the following:

DeepSeek’s Sequel Set to Extend China’s Reach in Open-Source A.I. (2/2)

Chinese companies have embraced making their most advanced artificial intelligence models available to all.

The NYT - By Meaghan Tobin and Cade Metz - Meaghan Tobin reported from Taipei, Taiwan, and Cade Metz from San Francisco.

April 24, 2026

Updated 11:47 a.m. ET

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DeepSeek’s open-source models are central to this strategy. While many Western companies guard their most valuable models, China has embraced open source, and almost all of its top-performing systems are widely available.

Even so, Chinese A.I. firms face major hurdles. Three U.S. administrations have imposed export controls limiting access to advanced chips needed for cutting-edge A.I. systems. And firms in Silicon Valley continue to outspend Chinese rivals in the race for top A.I. talent.

China’s push into open-source A.I. has become a major economic advantage at home, according to a new study by a U.S. congressional advisory body. With few barriers to use, the systems have spread across industries such as robotics, logistics and manufacturing. The study found that these industrial applications generate real-world data that are used to improve A.I. systems.

This approach has allowed Chinese tech firms to capture global influence, as programmers and engineers around the world adopt their systems to build new products.

From Lagos to Kuala Lumpur, developers on tight budgets are turning to Chinese open-source models because they are cheaper to run and therefore easier to experiment with. Last May, Malaysia’s deputy minister of communications said the country’s sovereign A.I. infrastructure would be built on DeepSeek’s technology.

Chinese open-source models accounted for roughly one-third of global A.I. use last year, according to a study by OpenRouter, an A.I. model marketplace. DeepSeek was the most widely used, followed by models from Alibaba, the Chinese internet company.

That reflects a broader strategy. As Chinese companies expand abroad, making their systems open source helps them gain traction with coders by offering cheaper, more accessible tools.

“Open source is the soft power of technology of the future,” said Kevin Xu, the U.S.-based founder of Interconnected Capital, a hedge fund that invests in artificial intelligence technologies. Mr. Xu and his fund do not invest in DeepSeek.

Wei Sun, a principal analyst in A.I. at Counterpoint Research in Beijing, said DeepSeek’s success paved the way for China’s tech giants to release their A.I. systems publicly rather than closely guarding them.

Alibaba has since emerged as a leader. Its Qwen model family has surpassed one billion downloads. ByteDance, parent company of TikTok, has also shared some details of its technology after spending $11 billion on A.I. infrastructure in 2024.

“The A.I. generation of open-source builders from China was arguably the biggest A.I. story in 2025,” Mr. Xu said. “The progress of the models, the pace of the releases and the number of A.I. labs that both compete with each other but also seem to cheer each other on came fast and furious with no signs of slowing down.”

Translation

DeepSeek 的後續是將進一步擴大中國在開源人工智能領域的影響力 (2/2)

中國企業已開始積極向所有人開放其最先進的人工智能模型

（繼續）

DeepSeek 的開源模型是這項策略的核心。許多西方公司對其最有價值的模型嚴加保護，而中國則擁抱開源，幾乎所有性能卓越的系統都已廣泛開放。

即便如此，中國的人工智能公司仍面臨巨大的挑戰。美國三屆政府都實施了出口管制，限制取得尖端人工智能系統所需的高階晶片。此外，矽谷的公司在爭取頂尖人工智能人才方面的持續投入巨大資金，遠超中國競爭對手。

根據美國國會諮詢機構的一項最新研究，中國大力發展開源人工智能已成為其國內的一項重大經濟優勢。由於使用門檻低，這些系統已廣泛應用於機械人、物流和製造業等各個行業。研究發現，這些工業應用能夠產生真實世界的數據，用於改善人工智能系統。

這種模式使中國科技公司得以在全球擴大影響力，世界各地的程式設計師和工程師都在採用他們的系統來開發新產品。

從Lagos到吉隆坡，預算緊拙的開發者紛紛轉向中國開源模型，因為它們運作成本更低，因此也更容易進行實驗。去年五月，馬來西亞通訊部副部長表示，該國的自主人工智能基礎設施將基於DeepSeek的技術建構。

根據人工智能模型市場OpenRouter的一項研究顯示，去年中國開源模型約佔全球人工智能使用量的三分之一。 DeepSeek 的應用最為廣泛，其次是阿里巴巴，一間中國網路公司的模型。

這反映了一種更廣泛的策略。隨著中國公司向海外擴張，開源系統有助於它們透過提供更便宜、更易於使用的工具來吸引程式設計師。

總部位於美國的Interconnected Capital的創始人Kevin Xu表示:「開源是未來科技的軟實力」。Interconnected Capital是一家投資人工智能技術的對沖基金。Xu及其基金並無未投資 DeepSeek。

北京 Counterpoint Research 的人工智能首席分析師Wei Sun表示，DeepSeek 的成功為中國科技巨頭公開其人工智能系統鋪平了道路，而不是將其嚴加保密。

阿里巴巴此後崛起成為領導者，成為業界領導者。其 Qwen 模型系列的下載量已超過 10 億次。 TikTok 的母公司字節跳動在斥資 110 億美元用於人工智能基礎建設後，在 2024 年也分享了其技術的部分細節。

Xu先生表示： “中國的人工智能世代開源開發者可以說是 2025 年人工智能領域最大的故事”; “模型的進步、發佈速度以及人工智能實驗室的數量都絲毫沒有放緩的跡象，這些實驗室既快速又熱烈相互競爭，亦互相鼓勵。”

So, DeepSeek has released a preview of V4 and intends it to be open source. China’s push into open-source A.I. has become a major economic advantage. With few barriers to use, the systems have spread across industries. This approach will allow Chinese tech firms to gain global influence. Apparently, open source will be the soft power of technology in the future. I am wondering how will the US AI companies respond to this open-source challenge.