DeepSeek sends shockwaves through Silicon Valley

Hello from the FT newsroom. The big story this week marks another momentous AI move: A little-known Chinese company, DeepSeek, sent shockwaves through Silicon Valley and rattled investors when it released a new AI model that appears to be comparable to the best models trained by companies like OpenAI and Meta. The difference is that DeepSeek’s model was created at a massively lower cost and without state-of-the-art chips. Our reporters explain the significance and how DeepSeek could transform the cost of the technology.

Investors, with their heavy bets on American tech, responded dramatically. Almost $600bn was wiped from Nvidia’s market value on Monday. We unpacked the market reaction here. But we should be clear-minded that this was an adjustment, not an all-out shock, wrote Robert Armstrong in his Unhedged newsletter. (Unhedged is one of our subscriber-only newsletters but you can read this edition for free, and take out a 30-day trial of the newsletter here.)  

My choices this week

1. Donald Trump has ordered work on the most ambitious missile shield in American history, designed to destroy hypersonic missiles and nuclear warheads . . . from space. Analysts say something of that scale is impossible. We explained Trump’s plan for space lasers to destroy nuclear weapons.
2. Governments want people to have more children, and are using ever more creative incentives to make it so. Why is it not working? This chart-rich piece explaining the “baby gap” is the first in our new series on the looming global demographic crisis.
3. Latin American presidents are holding an emergency summit today to respond to President Trump’s mass deportations of migrants. This week’s shortlived confrontation between Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro has sparked fears that this administration will go “back to 1897”, a diplomat told the FT.
4. After the fiery exit of Stellantis chief executive Carlos Tavares last December, the carmaker is looking for a reset. As chair John Elkann looks for a new CEO, he has made a multibillion-dollar gamble on Trump’s America.
5. “Darling, you can’t fake that Tilbury feeling.” So claims the latest campaign by billion dollar make-up brand Charlotte Tilbury, which is fighting a constant battle against duping and “passing off”. Is imitation really the sincerest form of flattery for premium brands?
6. Making sense of the meaning and challenges of life has puzzled humans throughout the ages — no matter how avidly we try to avoid thinking about it. Now, with a little help from TikTok, the ancient philosophers are back in fashion to lend a hand. (Free to read)

Thanks for reading,

Roula Khalaf, FT editor

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