Why DeepSeek is replacing ChatGPT as my go-to assistant

You’ve most likely heard about ChatGPT, by far the most used Generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) owned by OpenAI, which has amassed over 350 million users. When it was released on November 30, 2022, ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer software application in history, gaining over 100 million users by January 2023.

The debut of ChatGPT fueled the race for AI, as investors, confident that the technology would help advance other sectors from medicine to agriculture, poured billions of dollars into accelerating AI development. From Google’s Gemini, Microsoft Co-pilot, Meta AI, to Elon Musk’s Grok, generative AI became a tool for millions, with investors continuing to pour in billions.

With most leading AI chatbots built by giant American companies, many believed the U.S. would lead AI’s advancement. However, this optimism was challenged last week when DeepSeek, a Chinese AI firm, released its latest innovation. What followed was a massive sell-off in the U.S. market yesterday, Monday, January 27, particularly among big tech companies.

Nvidia, the American company that designs and supplies graphics processing units (GPUs) and application programming interfaces (APIs)—technologies critical to building AI models—plummeted by 17 percent, wiping $589 billion from the company’s market capitalization. Google stock dropped by nearly 4 percent, while Oracle, which partnered with SoftBank to launch a $500 billion AI fund last week at the White House, lost 13.8 percent by Monday’s market close.

But why did DeepSeek cause such a massive dip in the stock market?

I am one of the millions who have downloaded and used DeepSeek. Although the app was launched on January 10, I only heard about it on Sunday, two weeks later. I downloaded it immediately, and to my surprise, it has since replaced ChatGPT as my personal assistant. Here’s why.

DeepSeek Is Open Source

What attracted me to DeepSeek was its claim of being open source. I wasn’t entirely sure what that meant, so I turned to Chiemela, one of my tech-savvy friends, and asked, “Have you used DeepSeek? They say it’s open source. What does that mean?”

After a lengthy explanation, Chiemela broke it down for me:

“Open source projects are built by programmers for others to use without hiding anything. Everything is public, so anyone can see or contribute to its development.”

In layman’s terms, DeepSeek’s code is available for public use and contribution, making it distinct from proprietary software like ChatGPT. Chiemela even added that “you too can contribute to open source if you want, as long as the moderators approve your input.”

How Being Open Source Shook the Stock Market

Before diving into the stock market impact, it’s worth noting that the cryptocurrency market was also affected. According to CoinGecko, the crypto industry lost $3.59 trillion in just 24 hours.

The U.S. stock market took a hit because DeepSeek reportedly cost less than $6 million to develop. This challenged the widely held belief that advanced AI development, like ChatGPT, requires tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars. For example, Meta Platforms allocated $65 billion for AI this year alone, while DeepSeek’s total registered capital is just $1.4 million.

Bloomberg quoted Vey-Sern Ling, managing director at Union Bancaire Privée, saying, “DeepSeek shows that it is possible to develop powerful AI models at a fraction of the cost. This could derail the investment case for the entire AI supply chain, which relies on high spending by a small group of tech giants.”

Moreover, because DeepSeek is open source, it is free to use. As Chiemela pointed out, “Open source destroys the profitability of inventions. How will competitors make money when there’s a free alternative?”

Investors, realizing that AI advancement might not require massive capital investments, became skeptical and started selling off their stock. This sell-off led to a $1 trillion loss in U.S. stock market value, driven by major stocks like Nvidia, Microsoft, Meta, and Google.

Is DeepSeek Better?

This answer is entirely subjective, but for me, it has become my go-to assistant.

DeepSeek’s responses feel more tailored to my prompts. For instance, one of my early queries demonstrated its detailed thought process, where it analyzed my request before delivering a comprehensive answer. While ChatGPT was accurate in interpreting the same prompt, DeepSeek offered deeper examples.

As you can see below, the thought process of DeepSeek was long, and lasted for about 11 seconds before it processed to give its response to my question. This makes DeepSeek, in my observation, to have longer response time when compared to ChatGPT.

As a writer, I’ve used DeepSeek to develop content, and with the right prompts, it performs just as well as ChatGPT. My initial concern was privacy. Like many, I rarely read the privacy policies of American tech companies, despite knowing they might sell user data to third parties. However, I felt uneasy knowing DeepSeek, owned by a Chinese entrepreneur, could access my data. Ultimately, it’s all a mirage—neither side is truly secure.

Has the Bubble Burst for AI?

Watching yesterday’s red charts, I recalled The Economist article, “Will the bubble burst for AI in 2025, or will it start to deliver?” It argued that “The disparity between investor enthusiasm and business reality looks untenable. The race to make AI more efficient and useful, before investors lose their enthusiasm, is on.”

One of my friends, a Nigerian based in Germany, told me he won’t renew his ChatGPT subscription. It cost $20 per month for the plus version and $200 per month for the pro version.

Has the bust already arrived? I don’t know. But my friend Chiemela believes it won’t hinder necessary advancements. After all, much of the software powering the internet, like web servers, operating systems, and browsers, is open source.