Global tech shares fall as China AI chatbot DeepSeek rattles Silicon Valley [Video]

FEARS THAT THE AI gold rush could be under threat rocked Wall Street today following the emergence of a ChatGPT-like model from China, triggering predictions of turmoil for Silicon Valley and accusations of cheating.

Last week’s release of the latest DeepSeek model initially received limited attention, overshadowed by the inauguration of US President Donald Trump that took place the same day.

However, over the weekend, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup’s chatbot surged to become the most downloaded free app on Apple’s US App Store, displacing OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

What truly rattled the industry was DeepSeek’s claim that it developed its latest model, the R1, at a fraction of the cost major companies are currently investing in AI development, primarily on expensive Nvidia chips and software.

This development is particularly significant given that the AI boom, ignited by ChatGPT’s release in late 2022, has propelled Nvidia to become one of the world’s …