Who Is Behind DeepSeek AI? All you need to know

Liang Wenfeng, a 40-year-old former hedge fund manager, founded DeepSeek, the AI company that shook the U.S. stock market. He stated that his move into technology was driven by a desire to bridge the gap between China and the U.S. in the AI sector.

Liang told the Chinese tech outlet 36Kr that China must “gradually transition” to being a contributor in the AI industry, “rather than continuing to ride on the coattails of others,” according to a translation by the Post. China will “always be a follower” in the industry unless the country closes a “one- or two-year gap” with AI in the U.S., Liang said.

What Is Deepseek?

DeepSeek, founded by Liang with an initial capital of $1.4 million, recently made its open-source models available for download in the U.S. earlier this month. The AI model quickly rose to the top of iPhone download charts, surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT. DeepSeek claims its product outperforms competing models in mathematical tasks, general knowledge, and question-and-answer benchmarks. Its advanced reasoning model, R1, has been compared to similar offerings from OpenAI and Meta.

What Does Deepseek Say About Liang Wenfeng?

When asked about Liang’s background, DeepSeek AI informed Forbes that no publicly available information exists regarding his place of origin or educational history. The AI chatbot also noted that details about Liang’s personal life and academic background are not widely publicized, as he has maintained a relatively low profile compared to other tech entrepreneurs. The Associated Press was the first to inquire about Liang.

The public launch of DeepSeek’s generative AI model triggered a selloff in U.S. tech stocks, with Nvidia suffering a massive $600 billion loss. Several billionaires saw their fortunes shrink, including Oracle chairman Larry Ellison, who lost $27.6 billion, and Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who lost $20.8 billion. DeepSeek’s model emerged as a potential competitor to OpenAI’s widely popular ChatGPT, with speculation suggesting that DeepSeek’s product operates at a significantly lower cost than its U.S.-based counterparts. Former President Donald Trump, who recently proposed a $500 billion AI infrastructure project, stated that DeepSeek’s AI launch should serve as a “wake-up call” for U.S. industries, while also praising the company for its cost-effective approach.