Hello Reader,
There is so much I want to write this week, but I'm keeping to just two points due to time constraints. I'm happy to discuss any of the stories via email, though, so feel free to hit "reply" to this email to reach me - I respond to every email.
DeepSeek and its implications on AI
We thought last week was exciting, but it turned out that things ramped up even further this week. Specifically, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek stirred up a hornet's nest with the release of its new R1 "reasoning" model, wiping hundreds of millions of dollars off the stock market.
The repercussions are felt far and wide. Meta had reportedly assembled four "war rooms" of engineers to respond to its apparent breakthrough. At the same time, OpenAI claimed that DeepSeek had contravened its terms of service by "distilling" its AI models and effectively stealing its secrets.
You can read what I think about the latter in "OpenAI says DeepSeek copied its AI. The Internet cracks up" below.
Crucially, it also prompted the new Trump administration to take a harder look at how DeepSeek got hold of the tens of thousands of GPUs needed to train such advanced AI models.
Singapore scrambles to respond
And as reported by Bloomberg on Friday morning, U.S. officials are now probing whether DeepSeek purchased advanced Nvidia GPUs through third-party vendors in Singapore to circumvent restrictions.
The reason? A staggering 20% of Nvidia's revenue in recent quarters was attributed to the Lion City. How did that come to be?
After I wrote about this in a post on Friday, a source texted me that the outsized purchases clocked by Singapore are likely the result of sales and profits booked by MNCs here - with the risks and rewards of ownership held by regional headquarters in the country.
That makes sense, and I imagine U.S. officials know that too. However, the issue is the growing frustration evinced by those in charge. And we know Trump doesn't work like other U.S. presidents in recent history. Just ask Colombia, which quickly yielded to repatriation flights it initially blocked to avoid "immediate" US-imposed tariffs.
In the meantime, officials at Singapore EDB and MTI are not having a very restful Chinese New Year, scrambling into action to do crisis communication. They quickly put together a press release which went out on Saturday, got on social media, and individually contacted journalists and influencers - including yours truly, to get the word out.
Getting the message out is vital. But the most important question is: How will the U.S. react?
Regards,
Paul Mah.
The implications of DeepSeek are worse than you think
And it should scare you.
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Singapore accounts for staggering 20% of Nvidia's revenues
And the U.S. has taken notice as it seeks to clamp down on GPU shipment.
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OpenAI says DeepSeek copied its AI. The Internet cracks up
Claims DeepSeek distilled its AI models.
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Closest thing to pen on paper that I've tried.
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