deepseek's $7b chip gamble: bypassing huawei and nvidia for cheaper inference

deepseek is developing a proprietary ai chip designed for inference to bypass dependencies on nvidia and huawei, according to sources familiar with the matter. the startup has been recruiting chip engineers in secret and is collaborating with design and manufacturing firms, though us export controls on advanced technology present a significant hurdle. this hardware strategy coincides with deepseek seeking $7b in outside capital at a valuation between $52b and $59b, aiming to lower compute costs similar to moves by openai and anthropic. success would signal a major shift for chinese ai firms in achieving hardware independence, while failure highlights the enduring difficulty of navigating us sanctions.