China’s DeepSeek says its hit AI model cost just $294,000 to train

By Eduardo Baptista

BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese AI developer DeepSeek said it spent $294,000 on training its R1 model, much lower than figures reported for U.S. rivals, in a paper that is likely to reignite debate over Beijing’s place in the race to develop artificial intelligence.

The rare update from the Hangzhou-based company – the first estimate it has released of R1’s training costs – appeared in a peer-reviewed article in the academic journal Nature published on Wednesday.

DeepSeek’s release of what it said were lower-cost AI systems in January prompted global investors to dump tech stocks as they worried the new models could threaten the dominance of AI leaders including Nvidia.

Since then, the company and founder Liang Wenfeng have largely disappeared from public view, apart fro