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Behind China's rising AI startup DeepSeek: Who is Liang Wenfeng?

Zhao Chenchen

 , Updated 21:41, 27-Jan-2025

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Content is automatically generated by Microsoft Azure Translator Text API. CGTN is not responsible for any of the translations.

Liang Wenfeng, the founder of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, speaks at the symposium presided by Chinese Premier Li Qiang to hear opinions and suggestions on a draft government work report on January 20, 2025. /CCTV Plus
Liang Wenfeng, the founder of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, speaks at the symposium presided by Chinese Premier Li Qiang to hear opinions and suggestions on a draft government work report on January 20, 2025. /CCTV Plus

Liang Wenfeng, the founder of Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, speaks at the symposium presided by Chinese Premier Li Qiang to hear opinions and suggestions on a draft government work report on January 20, 2025. /CCTV Plus

Editor's note: In the realm of artificial intelligence (AI), Liang Wenfeng and his creation, DeepSeek, are emerging as a "mysterious force from the East." CGTN is producing a series on AI to delve into the power of innovation and its global impact. In this article, we take you behind the scenes to explore the man behind DeepSeek, his ideology, and his journey.

An artificial intelligence lab based in Hangzho, east China's Zhejiang Province has set Silicon Valley abuzz with the release of its state-of-the-art model, trained at a fraction of the cost of mainstream models such as OpenAI's ChatGPT. The breakthrough has drawn criticism from many AI experts online, who describe it as a "counterproductive" to the U.S.'s attempt to curb China's high-tech ambitions.

DeepSeek, founded by hedge fund manager Liang Wenfeng, unveiled its R1 model last Monday, accompanied by a detailed paper outlining how to train a large-scale reinforcement learning (RL) model without relying on supervised fine-tuning (SFT) as a preliminary step.

Within days, DeepSeek's app soared to top on the iPhone free app charts in both China and the U.S., surpassing the once-dominant ChatGPT.

The release of DeepSeek's R1 model has ignited a heated debate in Silicon Valley about whether better-resourced U.S. AI companies, including Meta and OpenAI, can maintain their technological advantage.

Meanwhile, Liang has become a focal point of discussion in China. Last week, he was invited to a symposium in Beijing, where Chinese Premier Li Qiang sought opinions and suggestions from experts, entrepreneurs, and representatives across various sectors—including education, science, culture, health, and sports—on a draft government work report.

About Liang Wenfeng

Liang Wenfeng graduated from Zhejiang University with a degree in Artificial Intelligence. He co-founded the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer in 2016, which quickly gained recognition for its innovative use of AI-driven trading strategies. By 2021, High-Flyer had fully integrated AI into its operations, using machine learning models to predict market trends and make data-driven investment decisions.

In May 2023, Liang took a bold step by founding DeepSeek, aiming at AI-focused research in advancing the field of general artificial intelligence (AGI). Unlike traditional for-profit ventures, DeepSeek was envisioned as a platform for long-term, fundamental research, where curiosity-driven exploration could drive meaningful advancements in AI.

Liang Wenfeng has remained low-profile, granting interviews only to Anyong, a sub-brand of China's commercial tech media 36Kr, in 2023 and 2024. Below are translated excerpts from these interviews, offering a glimpse into his philosophy and vision.

DeepSeek's 'long-termism'

For Liang, DeepSeek is more like a side project or hobby, driven by deep curiosity and a commitment to foundational research. He acknowledges that basic research often yields low immediate returns on investment, yet he is captivated by the challenge of exploring complex fields like finance and the potential of artificial general intelligence (AGI). Liang's focus is on understanding the essence of human intelligence and the processes that underlie it, believing that such exploration is crucial despite the lack of immediate commercial incentives.

「人类智能本质可能就是语言,人的思维可能就是一个语言的过程。你以为你在思考,其实可能是你在脑子里编织语言。这意味着,在语言大模型上可能诞生出类人的人工智能(AGI)。」

"The essence of human intelligence might be language; human thought could be a linguistic process. You think you're thinking, but you might actually be weaving language in your mind. This implies that human-like artificial intelligence (AGI) could emerge from large language models."

「当时我们尝试了很多场景,最终切入了足够复杂的金融,而通用人工智能可能是下一个最难的事之一,所以对我们来说,这是一个怎么做的问题,而不是为什么做的问题」

"At that time, we experimented with many scenarios and ultimately delved into the sufficiently complex field of finance. General artificial intelligence might be one of the next most challenging endeavors. For us, it's a question of how to do it, not why to do it."

「如果一定要找一个商业上的理由,它可能是找不到的,因为划不来。从商业角度来讲,基础研究就是投入回报比很低的。」

"If you must find a commercial reason, it might not exist because it's not worth it. From a business perspective, basic research has a very low return on investment."

Talent and team building

DeepSeek's LinkedIn profile shows that the company has a team of fewer than 10 people. One member was reportedly poached by Xiaomi's Lei Jun to work on AI development in December, 2024. Liang believes in discovering talent within China.

「如果追求短期目标,找现成有经验的人是对的。但如果看长远,经验就没那么重要,基础能力、创造性、热爱等更重要。从这个角度看,国内合适的候选人就不少。」

“If you're pursuing short-term goals, hiring experienced people is the right move. But in the long run, experience matters less. Foundational skills, creativity, and passion are more important. From this perspective, there are plenty of suitable candidates in China.”

「因为我们在做最难的事。对顶级人才吸引最大的,肯定是去解决世界上最难的问题。其实,顶尖人才在中国是被低估的。因为整个社会层面的硬核创新太少了,使得他们没有机会被识别出来。我们在做最难的事,对他们就是有吸引力的。」

"Because we're tackling the hardest problems. What attracts top talent the most is the chance to solve the world's most difficult challenges. In fact, top talent in China is undervalued. There's too little hardcore innovation at the societal level, so they don't get recognized. By working on the hardest problems, we become attractive to them."

On Innovation

Innovation requires freedom and room for trial and error. He noted that innovation often emerges naturally, rather than being planned or taught.

「我们的总结是,创新需要尽可能少的干预和管理,让每个人有自由发挥的空间和试错机会。创新往往都是自己产生的,不是刻意安排的,更不是教出来的。」

"Our conclusion is that innovation requires minimal intervention and management, giving everyone the freedom to explore and make mistakes. Innovation often emerges on its own; it's not something you can plan or teach."

「创新就是昂贵且低效的,有时候伴随着浪费。所以经济发展到一定程度之后,才能够出现创新。很穷的时候,或者不是创新驱动的行业,成本和效率非常关键。看OpenAI也是烧了很多钱才出来。」

"Innovation is expensive and inefficient—sometimes even wasteful. Only when an economy reaches a certain level of development can innovation thrive. When resources are scarce or in industries not driven by innovation, cost and efficiency are critical. Look at OpenAI; it burned a lot of money to get where it is."

On China's role in AI development

Liang believes that China cannot remain a follower in AI forever. In the interviews, he emphasizes the need for China to shift from imitation to originality and build its own technological ecosystem.

「我们看到的是中国AI不可能永远处在跟随的位置。我们经常说中国AI和美国有一两年差距,但真实的gap是原创和模仿之差。如果这个不改变,中国永远只能是追随者,所以有些探索也是逃不掉的。」

"We see that China's AI cannot remain in a follower position forever. We often say there's a one- or two-year gap between China and the U.S., but the real gap is between originality and imitation. If this doesn't change, China will always be a follower. That's why some exploration is inevitable."

「英伟达的领先,不只是一个公司的努力,而是整个西方技术社区和产业共同努力的结果。他们能看到下一代的技术趋势,手里有路线图。中国AI的发展,同样需要这样的生态。很多国产芯片发展不起来,也是因为缺乏配套的技术社区,只有第二手消息,所以中国必然需要有人站到技术的前沿。」

"NVIDIA's leadership isn't just the result of one company's efforts; it's the collective achievement of the entire Western tech community and industry. They can see the next generation of technological trends and have a roadmap. China's AI development needs a similar ecosystem. Many domestic chips fail to develop because they lack a supporting tech community and rely on second-hand information. That's why China must have people at the forefront of technology."
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