Just days after China’s AI startup DeepSeek launched its latest reasoning model, DeepSeek R1, its iOS app skyrocketed to the top of Apple’s App Store, surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which now sits in second place.DeepSeek claims R1 outperforms rival AI models on key benchmarks. In my experience, it was impressive—quickly helping me design a web project and even sharpening my chess skills.
What’s driving DeepSeek’s meteoric rise? Its open-source nature and aggressive pricing. The AI is free to use on the web and mobile, while API access costs significantly less than OpenAI’s premium reasoning model. Over the weekend, social media buzz exploded with users demonstrating DeepSeek’s capabilities—running it on modest hardware or tackling complex tasks.
The result? DeepSeek now holds the top spot on Apple’s App Store and ranks 20th on Google Play.
Beyond its app store dominance, DeepSeek’s rapid success could have broader implications, particularly for the U.S. stock market. Nvidia, currently the world’s most valuable company, might feel the impact. Reports suggest DeepSeek R1 was developed and trained at a fraction of the cost of U.S.-based models like Meta’s Llama and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. If this trend continues, demand for Nvidia’s high-end AI hardware—widely used for advanced machine learning—could decline.
As a possible reflection of this shift, Nasdaq futures were down 3.2% ahead of Monday’s market open.If DeepSeek continues its momentum, it could challenge the dominance of Western AI companies and accelerate the global adoption of open-source AI models. Its success may also push industry leaders like OpenAI and Meta to rethink their pricing strategies and accessibility. Meanwhile, investors and analysts will be watching closely to see whether DeepSeek’s cost-effective approach can sustain long-term innovation—or if it’s just an initial surge driven by curiosity and competitive pricing.
