Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has praised on Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek’s flagship model, R1, saying that it is the first large language model (LLM) that he’s seen to rival OpenAI’s performance – essentially keeping it on a higher pedestal than Google’s Gemini and the one that powers Grok, the AI chatbot by Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI.
“OpenAI has been so far ahead that no one's really come close,” Nadella told Bloomberg Businessweek.
“DeepSeek, and R1 in particular, was the first model I’ve seen post some points,” he added.
Microsoft began offering R1 through its Azure AI Foundry in January, alongside models from OpenAI, Meta and Mistral. Microsoft VP Asha Sharma said R1 underwent “rigorous red teaming and safety evaluations” before being made available, and emphasized that data processed through Azure would not be routed to DeepSeek’s servers in China.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google’s Sundar Pichai calls R1 ‘impressive’
DeepSeek made waves earlier this year when it launched R1, impressing both the tech industry and investors. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the competition, calling R1 “an impressive model” and noting its strong performance at a lower cost. He added that DeepSeek’s emergence prompted OpenAI to accelerate some product releases.
Even Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged the ‘impressive work’ of DeepSeek's team Alphabet’s Q4 2024 earnings call.
“I think [DeepSeek has] a tremendous team. I think they've done very, very good work,” Pichai said.
R1’s popularity surged in January when its free chatbot app topped Apple’s US App Store, sparking concerns among investors about potential impacts on demand for AI hardware like Nvidia chips. DeepSeek’s ability to deliver high-quality models at a lower price triggered a sell-off in AI-related stocks.
However, Ben Buchanan, a former AI advisor in the Biden administration, suggested the hype may be overstated.
“DeepSeek’s engineers are extremely talented,” he said on The Ezra Klein Show, adding that their breakthroughs are largely in line with algorithmic efficiency work seen across the industry.
“OpenAI has been so far ahead that no one's really come close,” Nadella told Bloomberg Businessweek.
“DeepSeek, and R1 in particular, was the first model I’ve seen post some points,” he added.
Microsoft began offering R1 through its Azure AI Foundry in January, alongside models from OpenAI, Meta and Mistral. Microsoft VP Asha Sharma said R1 underwent “rigorous red teaming and safety evaluations” before being made available, and emphasized that data processed through Azure would not be routed to DeepSeek’s servers in China.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Google’s Sundar Pichai calls R1 ‘impressive’
DeepSeek made waves earlier this year when it launched R1, impressing both the tech industry and investors. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged the competition, calling R1 “an impressive model” and noting its strong performance at a lower cost. He added that DeepSeek’s emergence prompted OpenAI to accelerate some product releases.
Even Google CEO Sundar Pichai acknowledged the ‘impressive work’ of DeepSeek's team Alphabet’s Q4 2024 earnings call.
“I think [DeepSeek has] a tremendous team. I think they've done very, very good work,” Pichai said.
R1’s popularity surged in January when its free chatbot app topped Apple’s US App Store, sparking concerns among investors about potential impacts on demand for AI hardware like Nvidia chips. DeepSeek’s ability to deliver high-quality models at a lower price triggered a sell-off in AI-related stocks.
However, Ben Buchanan, a former AI advisor in the Biden administration, suggested the hype may be overstated.
“DeepSeek’s engineers are extremely talented,” he said on The Ezra Klein Show, adding that their breakthroughs are largely in line with algorithmic efficiency work seen across the industry.
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