Similar to DeepSeek’s previous V3 model, the latest upgrade is open source, allowing developers to download the code, run it locally, and modify it.<\/p>\n
The Hangzhou-based company claimed that V4 achieves strong performance against domestic competitors, particularly in agent-based tasks, knowledge processing and inference.<\/p>\n
The company added that DeepSeek-V4 has been optimized for use with popular agent tools such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenClaw.<\/p>\n
The model is available in both a “pro” and a “flash” version, depending on size.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek gained attention in late 2024 with its free, open-source V3 model, which it said was trained with less powerful chips and at a fraction of the cost of models built by the likes of OpenAI and Google<\/a>.<\/p>\n Weeks later, in January 2025, it released a reasoning model, R1, that hit similar benchmarks or outperformed many of the world’s leading LLMs. <\/p>\n The R1 model had alarmed investors<\/a> when DeepSeek revealed that it had only taken two months, and not even $6 million<\/a>, to build the model using lower-capacity Nvidia chips. That called into question the U.S.\u2032 lead in AI as well as Big Tech’s massive spending on AI infrastructure.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Since then, DeepSeek has released a series of model upgrades, but none have matched the impact of R1. <\/p>\n V4 is also unlikely to have the same impact as R1, because markets have already priced in the reality that Chinese AI is competitive and cheaper to use, Ivan Su, senior equity analyst at MorningStar, told CNBC. <\/p>\n However, DeepSeek’s latest positioning places other Chinese open-source models as direct competitors, Su said. <\/p>\n “This is a framing that didn’t exist with R1, and that alone tells you how much domestic competition has intensified,” he added. <\/p>\n Since the release of R1, DeepSeek has faced increased competition in China’s booming AI sector, with players like Alibaba<\/a> and ByteDance also releasing new models this year.<\/p>\n Shares of several other Chinese AI players were down in Hong Kong trading on Friday. MiniMax and Knowledge Atlas Technology, also known as Zhipu, each fell around 8%, while Hangzhou-based developer Manycore Tech plunged 9%.<\/p>\n Which chips trained V4?<\/p>\n A major question following the release of DeepSeek’s V4 model is which chips were used to train the model.<\/p>\n Chinese tech giant Huawei on Friday confirmed that its latest AI computing cluster, powered by its Ascend AI processors, can support DeepSeek’s V4 model. <\/p>\n However, it is unclear to what extent Huawei’s Ascend chips were used in the model’s training compared with Nvidia’s. <\/p>\n Chinese AI developers have been restricted from directly purchasing Nvidia’s most advanced chips for AI training due to U.S. export controls. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Beijing has stepped up efforts to develop its domestic chip industry and reportedly<\/a> pushed Chinese tech companies to adopt domestic alternatives from chipmakers such as Huawei, rather than foreign alternatives.<\/p>\n After DeepSeek announced its V4 release, shares of Chinese contract chip manufacturers rose in Hong Kong, with SMIC<\/a> and Hua Hong Semiconductor<\/a> surging 8.9% and 15.2%, respectively. <\/p>\n
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