Chinese equivalent of ChatGPT tops some mobile app ratings

By Alimat Aliyeva

The DeepSeek smart assistant from the Chinese company of the same name has topped the AppStore rankings in a wide range of countries, including China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates.

DeepSeek began releasing products based on artificial intelligence technology back in 2023, but it has only recently garnered significant public attention following the release of a new version of R1 on January 20, which is said to surpass its ChatGPT competitor from the American company OpenAI.

This new version has propelled the DeepSeek app to the top of the AppStore rankings in nearly all English-speaking countries. In several other countries, including Germany, Saudi Arabia, France, Turkiye, the Netherlands, and Japan, the app is among the top five most popular.

The DeepSeek chatbot has sparked a wave of discussion on Western social media following the release of its latest version. Users highlight that it handles tasks just as well as the latest version of ChatGPT, but it remains completely free for now. American investor Marc Andreessen, whose venture capital firm manages assets worth more than $40 billion, described DeepSeek R1 as "the most amazing and impressive breakthrough" in his professional career. According to media reports, the Chinese company may have spent up to 90% less on developing its chatbot compared to OpenAI.

This unexpected success has caught the attention of the tech world. Many are now speculating about DeepSeek's potential to challenge established AI giants. The fact that it remains free while offering performance on par with, or even superior to, ChatGPT has fueled interest among users and investors alike. Some analysts believe that this could be a game-changer in the rapidly evolving AI space, with DeepSeek positioning itself as a major player capable of disrupting the current landscape.