DeepSeek's embrace in China, shunning by West highlights tech divide

China's public, private sectors rush to adopt AI tool that spread faster than ChatGPT

DeepSeek topped 100 million users in seven days -- a milestone that ChatGPT took two months to reach. © Reuters

TOMOKO WAKASUGI, KOHEI FUJIMURA and KOSUKE SHIMIZU

February 22, 2025 04:29 JST

SHANGHAI/PALO ALTO, California -- The generative artificial intelligence model developed by China's DeepSeek has received a warm welcome at home while provoking a backlash elsewhere, underscoring a sharp divide between Chinese and U.S. tech development.