A Rare Glimpse Into DeepSeek’s Vision
A four-hour, 30,000-word transcript of a closed-door investor meeting has thrust DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng into the spotlight. The document, which surfaced recently, offers a candid look at the strategy of one of China’s most prominent AI firms as it navigates a $70 billion valuation and prepares for a potential IPO. Liang’s remarks, described by industry observers as “brutally candid,” emphasize a philosophy of “restraint” in commercial pursuit to prioritize the development of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).
The Philosophy of “Restraint”
Liang clarified that DeepSeek is not operating with a traditional focus on profit maximization. He characterized consumer-facing applications and enterprise revenue as mere “byproducts” of the core mission: achieving AGI. This strategy is reflected in the company’s pricing model, where APIs are priced solely to recover hardware costs within approximately 10 months. Liang explicitly rejected the pursuit of currently popular but non-AGI-critical tracks, such as video generation, framing them as “sesame seeds” compared to the “watermelon” of AGI.
Despite this focus, DeepSeek’s commercial trajectory remains robust. Liang noted that B2B revenue is growing steadily, with projections suggesting the company could reach positive cash flow once annual recurring revenue hits $1 billion. However, he maintained that full-scale commercialization is not an immediate priority.
Computing Power and the NVIDIA Moat
Addressing the critical bottleneck of computing power, Liang offered a contrarian view on the industry’s dependence on NVIDIA. He argued that NVIDIA’s CUDA ecosystem moat is being rapidly dismantled as AI tools assist in code migration. DeepSeek has already begun a deep partnership with Huawei, utilizing approximately 16,000 Ascend 950 chips. Liang asserted that while there is a generational performance gap, Huawei’s infrastructure serves as a “viable substitute” for NVIDIA’s GB200 and GB300 systems, predicting that China’s domestic chip ecosystem will be fully validated within a year.
Talent Stability and Market Consolidation
To combat the challenge of talent poaching by major tech firms, Liang implemented strict clauses in DeepSeek’s latest funding round, preventing investors from recruiting DeepSeek employees. He emphasized that the stability of the core team is the primary factor in achieving AGI. Furthermore, Liang predicted a consolidation in the Chinese AI market, stating that the current fragmentation is unsustainable and will likely converge into a few major players as companies realize that profit margins are not as high as initially anticipated.