DeepSeek has rattled large AI players — but smaller chip firms see it as a force multiplier

DeepSeek has rattled the U.S.-led AI ecosystem with its latest model, shaving hundreds of billions in chip leader Nvidia’s market cap. While the sector leaders grapple with the fallout, smaller AI companies see an opportunity to scale with the Chinese startup.

Several AI-related firms told CNBC that DeepSeek’s emergence is a “massive” opportunity for them, rather than a threat. 

“Developers are very keen to replace OpenAI’s expensive and closed models with open source models like DeepSeek…