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PARIS — “There is no alternative” (TINA), the phrase attributed to Margaret Thatcher when she was the UK’s prime minister in the 1980s, summed up her conviction that there was only one possible policy, that there is no choice. It is, of course, not true in politics — or technology. There are always several possibilities and paths.
Just last week came the U.S. announcement of a huge $100-billion investment in artificial intelligence sponsored by President Donald Trump. The Americans seemed to have won the AI race. But this week is beginning with the realization that ChatGPT and its ilk of U.S.-based generative AI solutions, now face serious competition from abroad.
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For the past few days, the Chinese conversational robot DeepSeek has attracted attention and amazement because it offers good quality answers — at a much lower cost than its U.S.-made competitors. Released on Jan. 20, the R1 version of DeepSeek has reportedly already surpassed ChatGPT as the most downloaded app on Apple’s App Store across the Atlantic.
On NASDAQ, tech stocks have dropped sharply since Friday, with a loss of valuation of up to $500 billion on the opening session on Monday for Nvidia (-13%), the manufacturer of the most sophisticated chips in the world.
Why? Because DeepSeek has proven that it’s possible to effectively drive AI with microchips that are not of the latest generation.
Join the race (there is a race)
As a consequence, the only U.S. Big Tech that has come out on top, Apple, is the one that has announced the smallest amount of investments in AI, while Facebook has promised billion in 2025.
For its part, Microsoft is making the best of a bad situation, betting that competition will have a positive effect, by increasing demand for AI for the benefit of all stakeholders.
The rise of AI is not just a question of money.
That may be true but the collapse of the cost of the barrier to entry — OpenAI spent a lot of money on its model — if it is confirmed, is not the only important piece of information that emerges from this. It also shows that Washington’s embargo policy on Nvidia chips is not working — or at least, it is not preventing the emergence of new players.
China is in the AI race, just like it’s competitive in other sectors like smartphones with Huawei, electric cars, with 300 manufacturers and not just BYD, or even social networks with TikTok.
Sputnik moment
What about Europe? If we want to be optimistic, this episode may show that the rise of AI is not just a question of money. And therefore that the Old Continent can also take part in the race.
DeepSeek could be a “Sputnik moment” — in reference to Moscow’s launch of the first satellite into space in 1957 —, i.e. a geopolitical turning point, this time for the benefit of China.
But it could also prove to be, as French digital expert Frédéric Filloux points out on X, “the pin that bursts the bubble of the staggering expenses planned for AI architectures.”
