Google Deepmind CEO, Demis Hassabis, commended that DeepSeek’s AI model is “probably the best work” to have surfaced from China. Despite praising the model, Hassabis clarified that it did not constitute a significant technological breakthrough.

What Happened: At a Google-hosted event in Paris preceding the AI Action Summit, DeepMind CEO, Demis Hassabis expressed that the DeepSeek AI can do “extremely good engineering” and that it “changes things on a geopolitical scale.”, CNBC reported.

However, Hassabis added that “despite the hype, there’s no actual new scientific advance … it’s using known techniques [in AI].” According to him, the hype around Deepseek has been “exaggerated a little bit.”

Hassabis questioned DeepSeek’s claims regarding its low costs and the chips it utilizes. DeepSeek had earlier proclaimed that its AI model was developed at a fraction of the cost of leading AI players and utilized less advanced Nvidia chips. This revelation triggered a substantial stock sell-off and ignited a discussion over the high spending of large tech firms on AI infrastructure.

Regarding artificial general intelligence (AGI), Hassabis stated that the AI industry is “on the path towards AGI,” and suggested that we may be only around five years away from a system that exhibits all the cognitive capabilities humans have.

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Why It Matters: Hassabis’ comments align with Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai who acknowledged the progress made by DeepSeek but maintained that Google’s Gemini remains superior in efficiency, cost, and performance. Hassabis also considers Google’s newly launched Gemini 2.0 Flash Models as more efficient than even Deepmind’s model.

In another instance, ex-Google researcher and CEO of Cohere, Aidan Gomez told Business Insider that DeepSeek’s R1 is “a really impressive release”. However, he doesn’t believe that it should be a viable option for businesses.

Interestingly, Chinese tech companies are witnessing a surge after the DeepSeek launch which gaining an edge over its US tech counterparts in terms of valuation. On Feb.6, Bloomberg Data suggested that the Hang Seng Tech Index had an average price-to-earnings ratio of 20.5 times, compared to the Mag. 7 giants that traded at an average of 41.4 times.

• READ MORE: China Tech ETFs Surge As DeepSeek-Led AI Boom Fuels Bull Market

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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.