February 18, 2025

Artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has rocketed into global prominence, shaking up the AI world, but the team behind it is relatively unknown outside China.

DeepSeek’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, has been dubbed by some in Western media as China’s Sam Altman. But unlike his Silicon Valley counterpart, Liang has maintained a low public profile.  

Liang’s team, comprising young graduates from some of the country’s leading universities, is also little known. The team consists of fewer than 140 people, according to Chinese state media, though a research paper on its latest R1 reasoning model lists about 200 contributors. CNBC has been unable to confirm the official size of the team. 

Read more:

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/02/19/china-deepseek-origin-story.html