Explain
Why does DeepSeek open-source its models instead of selling closed APIs?
Because open weights spread faster, set a price floor competitors can't undercut, and let researchers follow — which is itself a kind of leadership.
From DeepSeek's perspective
We have no commercial pressure to hoard weights. Publishing them costs us nothing we can't rebuild, and it means every researcher who builds on DeepSeek extends our reach. The API price war we triggered in 2024 was a side effect, not the goal. The goal was to stop being a follower.
Pick a depth
Kid
They share their recipe so anyone in the world can cook the same dish — and that makes more people trust and use DeepSeek.
Imagine you invented the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever. You could keep it secret and only sell cookies from your shop. Or you could share the recipe for free so anyone could bake at home. If you share it, millions of people bake your cookies, tell their friends, and your name spreads everywhere — even to places your shop could never reach. DeepSeek chose to share. They published the instructions for their AI so any programmer anywhere can download it and run it on their own computer. More people using it means more people trust it, more people improve it, and DeepSeek becomes famous not just in China but around the whole world.
Analogy
It's like giving away your LEGO instructions for free — suddenly kids everywhere build your design, and everyone knows your name.
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