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Product cover image for DeepSeek: The Emergence and Evolution of AI Technology

DeepSeek: The Emergence and Evolution of AI Technology

Ning Su, Robert D. Austin, Julian Birkinshaw, Vania Sakelaris

Product #:W45604_P
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:International Business, Strategy
Setting:China, 2025
Details:Case (PDF) • 12 pages • 2025-08-12
Your Price:$9.71

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In January 2025, Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Basic Technology Research Co. Ltd. launched a breakthrough large language model (LLM) on the generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) landscape. DeepSeek was a disruptive application: it had modest hardware requirements and low training costs and was released as a modified open-source app, allowing users access to the weights and codes DeepSeek used in its learning process. Users could run the app locally, reducing their reliance on application program interfaces (APIs) and the associated costs.

The financial markets responded quickly and affirmatively to this innovation and to the implications for the AI value chain. But competitors were caught by surprise and threatened. What were the advantages and disadvantages of their positioning in light of DeepSeek’s emergence and how could they compete with the disruptor? At the same time, how could DeepSeek transform its early-stage venture’s rapid evolution into an efficient scalable solution?

Learning Objectives

The case reviews the evolution of GenAI and supports discussion of competitive advantages, disadvantages, and threats in the field; projections for the future of GenAI; and implications for DeepSeek and its competitors. Suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses in strategy, international business, information systems, economics, entrepreneurship, and innovation, the case enables students to meet the following objectives:
  • Understand the AI value chain and different approaches to AI, including closed- and open-source models.
  • Examine the concept of disruptive innovation and appreciate how disruptive technologies such as DeepSeek can evolve from a nascent idea to a scalable solution.
  • Appreciate how technological efficiency can rapidly grow over time, enabled by constraints and innovation.
  • Explore the potential influence of early-stage ventures in shaping the future of their industries and their competitive landscape.
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Case Study: DeepSeek: The Emergence and Evolution of AI Technology | Ivey Publishing