DeepSeek’s disruption triggers AI race in China as Baidu, Tencent, Alibaba ramp up efforts

A low-cost, open-source model from Chinese startup DeepSeek has triggered a new wave of competition in China’s artificial intelligence (AI) sector, pushing major technology players Baidu, Tencent, and Alibaba to accelerate their AI strategies.

Since its launch in January, DeepSeek’s reasoning model has gained attention for matching the performance of global platforms such as ChatGPT, but at a fraction of the cost. That has forced more established firms to respond quickly — with faster product rollouts, bigger investments and a growing shift…