Monday, 23 June 2025
31 C
Singapore
34 C
Thailand
24.1 C
Indonesia
28.3 C
Philippines

TikTok owner ByteDance and DeepSeek advance AI reasoning in China

ByteDance and DeepSeek challenge OpenAI with affordable and advanced AI reasoning models, showcasing China's growing influence in artificial intelligence.

The global competition to develop advanced artificial intelligence (AI) reasoning models is intensifying as TikTok owner ByteDance and Chinese AI startup DeepSeek make significant progress in challenging OpenAI’s dominance.

On Wednesday, ByteDance introduced an upgraded version of its flagship AI model, Doubao-1.5-pro. The company claims this model surpasses OpenAI’s o1 in AIME, a key benchmark for evaluating how well AI systems understand and process complex instructions. This launch reflects ByteDance’s intent to rival Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s cutting-edge reasoning models.

DeepSeek unveils competitive model

DeepSeek made waves in the AI community by launching its open-source reasoning model, DeepSeek-R1, last Monday. According to the company, DeepSeek-R1 matches OpenAI’s o1 on several performance benchmarks, offering a compelling alternative in the AI reasoning space.

Last month, DeepSeek’s V3 large language model outperformed OpenAI and Meta’s in various tests despite the company operating on a smaller development budget. Additionally, DeepSeek plans to charge significantly lower fees for its models, which could shake up the competitive landscape.

In comparison, DeepSeek-R1 is priced at 16 yuan (US$2.20) per million tokens, far below OpenAI’s o1, which costs 438 yuan (approximately US$60) for the same usage. ByteDance has taken an even more aggressive pricing approach, with Doubao-1.5-pro-32k costing just 2 yuan (US$0.27) per million tokens, while the more advanced Doubao-1.5-pro-256k version is available for 9 yuan (US$1.23). These competitive prices reflect the increasing affordability of AI reasoning tools in the Chinese market.

Chinese firms step up AI innovation

ByteDance and DeepSeek are not the only Chinese companies driving AI advancements. Other players, including Moonshot AI, Minimax, and iFlyTek, have recently unveiled their reasoning models. These innovations pose a growing challenge to the market share of established global AI leaders such as OpenAI.

The push to develop reasoning AI intensified following OpenAI’s launch of ChatGPT in November 2022. In September 2023, OpenAI introduced its “Strawberry” series of reasoning models, which marked a significant leap in tackling complex problems in science, coding, and mathematics.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently announced that a new model, o3 mini, would be ready for release in the coming weeks. However, ByteDance’s Doubao-1.5-pro and DeepSeek-R1 are already gaining attention for their competitive performance and affordability.

A new era in AI development

The rapid advancements in AI reasoning models from ByteDance, DeepSeek, and other Chinese companies highlight China’s growing influence in artificial intelligence. With competitive pricing and performance, these firms are positioning themselves as serious contenders in the global AI landscape.

As the development continues, users worldwide stand to benefit from improved accessibility to advanced AI reasoning tools at lower costs. For ByteDance and DeepSeek, these innovations mark a bold step towards reshaping the future of AI technology.

Hot this week

The future of work navigating technological transformations

Explore how technology, remote work, AI, and reskilling are shaping the future of work, driving innovation, productivity, and sustainable growth.

Adobe Firefly expands to iOS and Android, boosting mobile creativity

Adobe’s Firefly app is now available on iOS and Android. It brings AI-powered image and video tools to your phone and supports third-party models.

HPE unveils next-generation Nonstop Compute solutions for mission-critical workloads

HPE launches NS5 X5 and NS9 X5 Nonstop Compute systems with more memory and performance for mission-critical enterprise operations.

NTT DATA report reveals disconnect among C-Suite leaders over GenAI adoption

NTT DATA report reveals executive misalignment on GenAI adoption, with CEOs optimistic and CISOs warning of risk and readiness gaps.

Crunchyroll confirms summer 2025 anime line-up with 9 new titles for Southeast Asia

Crunchyroll confirms Summer 2025 anime line-up with 9 new exclusives and returning favourites for Southeast Asia viewers.

How Asia’s innovation is reshaping the global economy

Asia is becoming a global innovation powerhouse, driving sustainable growth through AI, clean energy, and deep tech ecosystems.

Adobe launches LLM Optimizer as AI replaces search engines in content discovery

Adobe unveils LLM Optimizer to help brands appear in AI chats like ChatGPT as AI becomes the new way people discover and shop.

Rising Chinese PC brand iSoftStone is on track to overtake Apple and HP

Due to fast growth in the education and gaming sectors, Chinese PC maker iSoftStone is set to overtake Apple and HP in China.

The Blood of Dawnwalker lets you step into a dark, vampire-filled world

Explore the dark world of The Blood of Dawnwalker, a vampire RPG set in 14th-century Europe that will be released for PC and consoles in 2026.

Related Articles

Popular Categories