DeepSeek, a Chinese startup founded by Liang Wenfeng, has taken the tech world by storm, leaving industry giants scrambling to catch up. Seemingly out of nowhere, the company unveiled a chatbot！one that rivals models such as ChatGPT from leading U.S. tech firms but at a fraction of the cost. This unexpected breakthrough has sent shockwaves through the AI ecosystem, particularly among billionaires who have poured vast sums into AI infrastructure.
One of those caught off guard is OpenAI's Sam Altman. Amid this buzz, an old video of Altman has resurfaced, where he dismisses the potential of AI startups in India, claiming that those with a $10 million budget are "totally hopeless." The contrast is now fuelling debate across the industry.
Check the video from 2023 below:
The video, from a 2023 ET Now summit, has resurfaced at a particularly ironic moment. In it, Sam Altman is asked a pointed question:
"How is it that a team from India, with super-smart engineers and a $10 million budget！not $100 million！could build something truly substantial?"
Altman's response is blunt and laced with overconfidence:?"Look, the way this works is, we're gonna tell you it's totally hopeless to compete with us on training foundation models, you shouldn't try！and it's your job to try anyway."
He doubles down, adding, "I think it is pretty hopeless, but！"
At the time, his words seemed final. But in hindsight, he had no idea what the world was about to witness over a year later.
Now, as DeepSeek shakes up the AI landscape, the video has sparked debate.?
One comment sums it up: "Funny how 'totally hopeless' turned into real competition in just over a year. The AI space is moving fast！centralised control is breaking down, but the question remains: who gets to define the future of AI governance?"
Another takes a sharper jab: "Incredible. Did that demotivate Indians? Maybe China took it as a challenge. Incredible from China."
The Chinese app DeepSeek has shaken up the U.S. tech market, becoming the most downloaded free app in the country.?
Launched in January, its rapid rise has sent AI-related stocks like Microsoft, Nvidia, and Meta into turmoil.
Reacting to the buzz, Sam Altman took to X, calling DeepSeek's model "an impressive model, particularly around what they're able to deliver for the price."
He acknowledged the competition but remained confident, saying, "We will obviously deliver much better models and also it's legit invigorating to have a new competitor! we will pull up some releases."
However, he emphasised OpenAI's long-term vision, adding, "But mostly we are excited to continue to execute on our research roadmap and believe more compute is more important now than ever before to succeed at our mission."
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