The AI Chess Game: How DeepSeek is Changing the Game for Model Makers

A survey of the strategic position of seven major AI model makers at the start of 2025—where are they now, what is shaping their strategy, and where are they going this year?

R1 changed the game today. It’s a thinking model launched as DeepThink—you can try it here. Long story short, DeepSeek has released a roughly o1 model for 10% of the cost, with immediate API availability, and a full open source MIT license available on Github. The revolution will be open-sourced, and that changes the entire strategic calculus for the ma…