DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup that’s just over a year old, has stirred awe and consternation in Silicon Valley after demonstrating breakthrough artificial-intelligence models that offer comparable performance to the world’s best chatbots at seemingly a fraction of the cost.

Nasdaq futures slumped and technology shares slid in Japan as the surging popularity of a Chinese discount artificial intelligence model knocked investors' faith in the profitability of AI and the sector's voracious demand for high-tech chips.

A Chinese start-up’s new artificial intelligence program took the top spot in Apple’s app store, threatening U.S. dominance in the field and huge investments from companies in the new technology. Stock futures were falling sharply Monday.

DeepSeek has boomed in popularity after its successful launch, breaking into the U.S. artificial intelligence market from China.

The Chinese startup behind the AI service is offering users its most advanced models completely free of charge

Chinese startup DeepSeek's AI Assistant on Monday overtook rival ChatGPT to become the top-rated free application available on Apple's App Store in the United States. Powered by the DeepSeek-V3 model,