Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
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Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
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Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#2I think this project is awesome and am quite disappointed with some cynical commentary from large American labs.
Researcher at Meta or OpenAI spending hundreds of millions on compute, and being paid millions themselves, whilst not publishing any of their learnings openly, here a bunch of very smart, young Chinese researchers have had some great ideas, proved they work, and published details that allow everyone else to replicate.
"No “inscrutable wizards” here—just fresh graduates from top universities, PhD candidates (even fourth- or fifth-year interns), and young talents with a few years of experience."
"If someone has an idea, they can tap into our training clusters anytime without approval. Additionally, since we don’t have rigid hierarchical structures or departmental barriers, people can collaborate freely as long as there’s mutual interest."Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#3Maybe worth adding that the interview is from July of last year. This is not a recent interview. Still interesting but was not what I was expecting.
Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#4Doesn't matter if and how much they used OpenAI's models. The only important thing that matters is that they managed to disrupt the status quo, Silicon Valley will need to be more aware going forward.
Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#5Its success stems from a refreshingly unconventional approach to innovation. Liang Wenfeng's philosophy of maintaining a flat organizational structure where researchers have unrestricted access to computing resources and can collaborate freely.
What's particularly striking is their deliberate choice to stay lean and problem-focused, avoiding the bureaucratic bloat that often plagues AI departments at larger companies. By hiring people driven primarily by curiosity and technical challenges rather than career advancement, they've created an environment where genuine innovation can flourish.
AI development doesn't necessarily require massive resources - it's more about fostering the right culture of open collaboration and maintaining focus on the core technical challenges.
Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#6I think this was super interesting, it sounds like he’s leaning more into “open” than openai is.
“In disruptive tech, closed-source moats are fleeting. Even OpenAI’s closed-source model can’t prevent others from catching up.
“Therefore, our real moat lies in our team’s growth—accumulating know-how, fostering an innovative culture. Open-sourcing and publishing papers don’t result in significant losses. For technologists, being followed is rewarding. Open-source is cultural, not just commercial. Giving back is an honor, and it attracts talent.”
Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#7Its success stems from a refreshingly unconventional approach to innovation. Liang Wenfeng's philosophy of maintaining a flat organizational structure where researchers have unrestricted access to computing resources and can collaborate freely. What's particularly striking is their deliberate choice to stay lean and problem-focused, avoiding the bureaucratic bloat that often plagues AI departments at larger companies…
The model you described probably works great (not just in AI) as long as it's not your primary and direct source of revenue with which you must pay back investors. Once it becomes your primary and direct source of revenue and you must generate some returns for investors or meet some revenue targets, then whatever you're doing somehow has to align with that revenue stream (often ruining the fun).
Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#8Maybe worth adding that the interview is from July of last year. This is not a recent interview. Still interesting but was not what I was expecting.
On the other hand, if you release something innovative in January, you probably had to already be on the right track in July.
Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#9Its success stems from a refreshingly unconventional approach to innovation. Liang Wenfeng's philosophy of maintaining a flat organizational structure where researchers have unrestricted access to computing resources and can collaborate freely. What's particularly striking is their deliberate choice to stay lean and problem-focused, avoiding the bureaucratic bloat that often plagues AI departments at larger companies…
I don't buy that. Allegedly Google lost to OpenAI because the compute resources were allocated evenly and then each team shared to other teams. So it became a popularity contest instead of meritocratic allocation. And then Pichai tried to merge all the different AI teams making it even worse. From rumors by connected people on podcasts.
There has to be some structure to put the best ones first. The key problem is how to judge that.
Re: Interview with DeepSeek Founder: We're Done Following. It's Time to Lead
#10I think this was super interesting, it sounds like he’s leaning more into “open” than openai is. “In disruptive tech, closed-source moats are fleeting. Even OpenAI’s closed-source model can’t prevent others from catching up. “Therefore, our real moat lies in our team’s growth—accumulating know-how, fostering an innovative culture. Open-sourcing and publishing papers don’t result in significant losses. For technologis…
Inspiring and what the Valley (at least in part) use to represent. People doing cool shit as an end, not a means.