DeepSeek users are finding the hot new generative artificial intelligence chatbot as good as its advertisements claim and it may provide an opportunity for the Middle East to accelerate its digital transformation, industry observers say.
The platform, which has grabbed worldwide headlines this week, has an open-source, free-to-use model for regular users and charges low fees for developers, and its large language model was trained using significantly less financing compared to billions spent by rival industry leaders on creating similar platforms.
It has received rave reviews for its performance, which has been reported to be better at particular functions compared to Anthropic's Claude and industry leader OpenAI's ChatGPT.
Its model now offers the potential to make companies reconsider their AI strategies, especially in the Middle East, where organisations are actively looking for cost-effective, localised and compliant AI solutions, said Sid Bhatia, a vice president and general manager for the Middle East, Turkey and Africa at New York-based AI company Dataiku.
"If DeepSeek delivers strong performance and multilingual capabilities – including Arabic – it could offer a compelling alternative to global AI players," he told The National.
DeepSeek’s cost-effectiveness and open-source platform can evoke "optimism" in the Gulf, as it would allow smaller companies that lack huge funding to build AI models, said Sophia Matveeva, chief executive and founder of London-based consultancy Tech for Non-Techies.
"Companies that wanted to invest in AI but couldn’t because they thought it was too expensive, will now get in the game," she told The National. "This means that digital transformation in the GCC will accelerate.
"For consumers, all the AI services you were paying premium prices for are about to get way less expensive and you are going to have more choice."
DeepSeek burst on to the scene over the past week as a cost-effective chatbot that, according to tests, outguns industry faces such as ChatGPT, Claude and Meta Platforms' Llama.
Its cost has also become a key selling point: its full offering is free to use, while the fee for its advanced platform for developers is only a fraction of what others charge.
The platform, made in China, also rattled stock markets, most notably AI chip bellwether Nvidia, wiping off more than $1 trillion from market caps and the wealth of tech bosses tied to AI, over fears of a stiff challenge to US leadership of technology. Tech stocks, however, have since recovered.
"The global AI ecosystem is taking note of DeepSeek’s developments ... innovation and the driving down of costs are key to unlocking AI and enabling mass adoption longer-term," said Richard Clode, a portfolio manager at asset management firm Janus Henderson.
DeepSeek is also able to "combine the best" of ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, [as its] writing and reasoning style are smooth and sophisticated like that of Claude, and doesn’t have that robotic AI feel that ChatGPT does", Ms Matveeva said.
Her company has subscriptions to both ChatGPT and Claude, "because one [ChatGPT] is a good writer, the other [Claude] one scans the internet".
But with DeepSeek, "I only need one, which is way more convenient and a lot cheaper".
Kellie Blyth, a Middle East-based technology and privacy lawyer, and partner at law firm Addleshaw Goddard, called DeepSeek "very good", delivering similar results to GPT's newer reasoning models. s She said it is a "good substitute for other leading large language models"
She told The National:"The most impressive thing is the ability to generate an equivalent quality of results using a different approach and the willingness to make it available as an open source, so that others can use and deploy it."
However, companies are still weighing up the viability of DeepSeek, assessing its maturity, scalability and ecosystem integration before making major shifts in their AI investment, Mr Bhatia said.
Established models such as ChatGPT, Claude and Google's Gemini have proven reliability with potential advancements, but new entrants like DeepSeek can introduce fresh perspectives and advancements.
Each model is recommended to be assessed for long-term maintainability, scalability and infrastructure adaptability, "ensuring it can integrate seamlessly into evolving AI ecosystems", said Javier Alvarez, senior managing director at FTI Consulting.
"Security, privacy and regulatory compliance remain central considerations, alongside potential vendor lock-in risks and geopolitical factors that could impact long-term viability," he told The National.
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto On sale: Now Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
Match info
Uefa Nations League A Group 4
England 2 (Lingard 78', Kane 85')
Croatia 1 (Kramaric 57')
Man of the match: Harry Kane (England)
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
Age
$250 a month
$500 a month
$1,000 a month
25
$640,829
$1,281,657
$2,563,315
35
$303,219
$606,439
$1,212,877
45
$131,596
$263,191
$526,382
55
$44,351
$88,702
$177,403
Common OCD symptoms and how they manifest
Checking: the obsession or thoughts focus on some harm coming from things not being as they should, which usually centre around the theme of safety. For example, the obsession is “the building will burn down”, therefore the compulsion is checking that the oven is switched off.
Contamination: the obsession is focused on the presence of germs, dirt or harmful bacteria and how this will impact the person and/or their loved ones. For example, the obsession is “the floor is dirty; me and my family will get sick and die”, the compulsion is repetitive cleaning.
Orderliness: the obsession is a fear of sitting with uncomfortable feelings, or to prevent harm coming to oneself or others. Objectively there appears to be no logical link between the obsession and compulsion. For example,” I won’t feel right if the jars aren’t lined up” or “harm will come to my family if I don’t line up all the jars”, so the compulsion is therefore lining up the jars.
Intrusive thoughts: the intrusive thought is usually highly distressing and repetitive. Common examples may include thoughts of perpetrating violence towards others, harming others, or questions over one’s character or deeds, usually in conflict with the person’s true values. An example would be: “I think I might hurt my family”, which in turn leads to the compulsion of avoiding social gatherings.
Hoarding: the intrusive thought is the overvaluing of objects or possessions, while the compulsion is stashing or hoarding these items and refusing to let them go. For example, “this newspaper may come in useful one day”, therefore, the compulsion is hoarding newspapers instead of discarding them the next day.
Source: Dr Robert Chandler, clinical psychologist at Lighthouse Arabia
Founders:Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector:Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees:4
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
Scoreline
Switzerland 5
Recipe: Spirulina Coconut Brothie
Ingredients
1 tbsp Spirulina powder
1 banana
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk (full fat preferable)
1 tbsp fresh turmeric or turmeric powder
½ cup fresh spinach leaves
½ cup vegan broth
2 crushed ice cubes (optional)
Method
Blend all the ingredients together on high in a high-speed blender until smooth and creamy.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
