Deepseek AI: what law professionals should know

Last week was a whirlwind for anyone who followed the latest technologies. Stocks have plummeted. Titans like OPENAI And Nvidia found themselves under control. And through the United States, leaders, investors and political decision-makers rushed to give meaning to a massive disturbance. The cause? In depthA little -known Chinese AI startup that appeared from nowhere.

The sudden rise of Deepseek is a sudden recall of the speed at which the race of the AI ​​is accelerating. But beyond the shock of the market and the frenzy, it has caused the history of Deepseek contains precious lessons, in particular for legal professionals who sail in this rapidly evolving landscape.

Have you met Clio Duo? Find out more about the right partner fed by Clio (or book a demo to see it in action)!

What is Deepseek?

Until recently, Deepseek was not exactly a familiar name. The Chinese startup, founded in 2023 by the entrepreneur Liang Wenfeng and supported by the speaker of the hedge funds, was discreetly made up of his reputation for his profitable approach to the development of AI. He has also become known for recruiting young elite universities graduates across China, offering the possibility of working on advanced projects.

Why does Deepseek make the headlines now?

Deepseek rocked the industry last week with the release of its new open source model called Deepseek-R1which corresponds to the capacities of leading chatbots as Cat And Microsoft Copilot. It turned out to be particularly strong in technical tasks, such as logical reasoning and the resolution of complex mathematical equations.

What really turned the heads, however, is the fact that Deepseek has achieved this with a fraction of the resources and costs of industry leaders – for example, to only a third party the price of the flagship product of OPENAI. This was made possible using less advanced Graphic processing unit (GPU). The implications of this breakthrough sent Shock waves through the US stock marketeraaring some 1 billion of dollars of value.

Why is it important?

For years, the development of AI is dominated by players with deep pockets. Companies like Openai and Google invest considerably in powerful chips and data centers, transforming artificial intelligence race into a breed that can be concentrated on who can spend the most. OPENAI and its partners, for example, have engaged at least $ 100 billion in their Stargate project. Deepseek’s ability to get around these financial constraints indicates a change of power that could radically reshape the AI ​​landscape.