In January, a series of technological breakthroughs from Chinese companies reshaped the global artificial intelligence landscape, challenging long-held US dominance in the field.
Update 1: DeepSeek’s Disruption
On January 10, Chinese startup DeepSeek shook Silicon Valley with the release of its AI assistant powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model.
Just ten days later, its R1 model followed, sending shockwaves through the industry. The reason? DeepSeek’s astonishingly low development and usage costs forced investors to rethink the massive spending by leading US AI firms.
The impact was swift and brutal—tech stocks nosedived, with an American Semiconductor designer and the world’s dominant supplier of chips for artificial intelligence (AI), NVIDIA alone, suffering a staggering US$589 billion wipeout in market value on January 29, the largest single-day loss in corporate history.
This seismic shift signaled something bigger: DeepSeek wasn’t just another AI company but a direct challenge to America’s tech supremacy.
Update 2: China’s Humanoid Robots
China delivered another spectacle as the world was still digesting DeepSeek’s rise. On January 28, during the Spring Festival Gala, Unitree Robotics showcased sixteen humanoid robots performing a synchronized Yangko dance alongside human performers, demonstrating significant progress in robotics and AI integration.
Update 3: Alibaba Strikes Back
The momentum didn’t stop there. The competitive landscape intensified further when Alibaba launched its Qwen 2.5 AI model on January 29, claiming superior performance to DeepSeek-V3.
The company boldly claimed it had outperformed the much-hyped DeepSeek-V3, escalating the AI race within China and triggering an aggressive price war in the AI model market.
Three disruptive events in just three weeks. From DeepSeek’s market disruption to Unitree’s robotic showcase and Alibaba’s AI price war—this isn’t just a series of breakthroughs. It’s a bold statement.
China’s message is clear: It is no longer a passive player in AI—it’s a force to be reckoned with. There is more than AI competition; it’s a challenge to US dominance in AI and robotics.
DeepSeek: The Disruptor
For years, the AI battlefield has been dominated by a single superpower—the United States. The global AI giants—Google, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, OpenAI, NVIDIA, Meta, Anthropic, and Adobe—all hail from America. Then came DeepSeek.
Cost Advantage: In an instant, DeepSeek – a one-year-old Chinese startup, upended the established order. And the biggest disruptor? Price… DeepSeek’s ‘R1’ model, built with just US$5.6 million, is already being compared to OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4, which reportedly cost over US$100 million to develop. Yet within weeks of launch, DeepSeek’s chatbot became the most downloaded AI assistant in the US, surpassing ChatGPT.
With a fraction of the cost and resources, DeepSeek is proving that efficiency can outmatch financial firepower—a challenge that Silicon Valley cannot ignore – and AI supremacy is no longer an American monopoly.
China’s Internal Battle: DeepSeek’s impact isn’t limited to global competition—it has ignited a fierce price war at home.
When DeepSeek-V2 was released in May 2024, it shattered AI pricing norms by offering access at just 1 yuan (US$0.14) per million tokens. This forced Chinese tech giants like Alibaba, Baidu, and Tencent to slash their AI pricing, triggering a domino effect that reshaped the industry.
Alibaba’s cloud unit responded with a 97% price cut, while Baidu and Tencent—already competing with their own AI models—scrambled to adjust their strategies.
Accusations of AI Theft: Not everyone is celebrating DeepSeek’s rise. OpenAI has accused Chinese AI firms—including DeepSeek—of stealing its proprietary models to accelerate their own AI development.
While OpenAI claims to have evidence, DeepSeek has remained silent on the allegations, further fueling speculation. If true, this could fuel tensions between US and Chinese AI firms, leading to deeper scrutiny and potential restrictions.
Cyber Attacks & Possible Sabotage: DeepSeek’s rise hasn’t been smooth. Just weeks after launching its AI model, the company was hit by large-scale cyber-attacks, forcing it to halt new user registrations. Was it a deliberate effort to stall China’s rapid AI advancements?
Clearly, DeepSeek’s meteoric rise has turned AI into a battlefield.
A Wake-Up Call For The US Tech Industry
Even the White House can’t ignore DeepSeek. US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning about China’s growing AI ambitions, calling DeepSeek’s success a “wake-up call” for American tech giants.
Yet, in typical Trump fashion, he framed it as an opportunity rather than just a threat, adding: “Instead of spending billions and billions, you’ll spend less, and you’ll come up with hopefully the same solution.”
On January 20, Trump made a decisive move—revoking a 2023 executive order signed by Joe Biden that sought to regulate AI development for national security, public safety, and economic stability.
Biden’s order had required AI companies to share safety test results with the US government under the Defense Production Act before public release. The Trump administration, however, sees these regulations as an unnecessary burden.
David Sacks, Trump’s AI advisor and a major tech investor, defended the rollback, arguing that Biden’s regulations would have handcuffed American AI companies while giving China a free pass.
“These rules would have hamstrung American AI companies without any guarantee that China would follow suit,” Sacks wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
Adam Kovacevich, CEO of the Chamber of Progress, echoed the urgency of keeping pace with China: “Now the top AI concern has to be ensuring the United States wins.”
Thus, one can say that Chinese ‘DeepSeek’ isn’t just rattling Silicon Valley—it’s reshaping US policy on AI.
This battle is no longer just about innovation; it’s about who will control the future of artificial intelligence. And for Washington, losing is simply not an option.
Race For Supremacy
The emergence of more sophisticated AI systems, particularly those demonstrating advanced reasoning capabilities, signals a new phase in artificial intelligence development.
These “thinking” models represent a significant evolution beyond traditional language models, showcasing improved ability to handle complex analytical tasks.
These developments collectively indicate a significant shift in the global AI landscape. What began as technological competition has evolved into a broader contest for AI leadership, with implications for economic power, national security, and technological innovation. It’s all about global dominance.
A Critical Juncture
While the technological achievements of both Chinese and American companies demonstrate remarkable progress, they also highlight critical questions.
Beyond the race for supremacy, scientists are voicing grave concerns: What happens if AI spirals beyond human control? As AI technology advances at breakneck speed, experts warn that any miscalculation or misuse could lead to catastrophic consequences for humanity.
While all these developments mark a significant shift in the competitive landscape of artificial intelligence, they also underscore a fundamental challenge: balancing technological advancement with responsible development.
- Shubhangi Palve is a defense and aerospace journalist. Before joining the EurAsian Times, she worked for ET Prime. She has over 15 years of extensive experience in the media industry, spanning print, electronic, and online domains.
- Contact the author at shubhapalve (at) gmail.com
