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Technology |
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Big Tech unfazed by DeepSeek's rise |
Leaders of major U.S. tech companies at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) are brushing off a popular new model from Chinese startup DeepSeek, despite fears it could upend the industry. |
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella have all appeared largely unconcerned about the new AI model in recent days, even after it sent tech stocks tumbling earlier this week. DeepSeek claims its new R1 model performs on par with OpenAI and cost just $5.6 million to train — a measly sum compared to the billions of dollars that American tech firms have spent building out infrastructure to develop AI. While Altman acknowledged Thursday that DeepSeek "did a couple of really nice things," he downplayed its overall impact, calling it "wildly overstated." "This is a model at a capability level that we had quite some time ago," he said during an event in Washington, D.C. "We've got a sense of what it takes to run a cost-efficient model." During Meta's fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday, Zuckerberg voiced confidence in his company's plans to continue investing heavily in AI infrastructure in the wake of DeepSeek's emergence. Meta, Facebook and Instagram's parent company, announced last week that it plans to spend between $60 billion and $65 billion in 2025 on capital expenditures as it focuses on AI. "It's probably too early to really have a strong opinion on what this means for the trajectory around infrastructure and capex and things like that," Zuckerberg said. "There are a bunch of trends that are happening here all at once." Microsoft's Nadella also struck a positive tone when discussing DeepSeek during the firm's earnings call Wednesday. His company announced plans earlier this month to spend $80 billion building out data centers in 2025. Read more in a full report at TheHill.com. |
Welcome to The Hill's Technology newsletter, we're Julia Shapero and Miranda Nazzaro — tracking the latest moves from Capitol Hill to Silicon Valley. |
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How policy will be impacting the tech sector now and in the future: |
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OpenAI CEO Sam Altman downplayed the significance of a new artificial intelligence (AI) model released by Chinese startup DeepSeek on Thursday, saying it did a "couple of nice things" but has been "wildly overstated." DeepSeek's R1 model, launched last week, has shaken up the American AI industry. The startup has claimed it cost just $5.6 million to train the model with a couple thousand reduced-capability chips, raising questions … |
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OpenAI announced Thursday it is partnering with the Los Alamos National Laboratory to install its newest artificial intelligence models onto the lab’s supercomputer for national security research. “We care a lot about AI and science, we’ve talked about this for a very long time. This is what we think will be on the most important impacts of AI long term. If we can use AI to help drive scientific progress, … |
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President Trump's allies and aides are learning to deal with Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who has had a consistent presence in the early days of the Trump administration. Musk had a front-row seat at Trump’s swearing-in, got a government email address and office space to oversee the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and appeared to play a role in the decision to offer buyouts to federal workers ahead … |
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Crypto keeps its 'foot on the gas' for 2026 |
© AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File |
Welcome to Crypto Corner, a new feature in The Hill's Technology newsletter focused on digital currency and its outlook in Washington. |
Pro-crypto super PAC Fairshake announced Thursday it has more than $116 million in cash on hand to back 2026 midterm candidates who seek to advance crypto innovation and "responsible regulation." The cash comes from a number of crypto-focused organizations like Coinbase, Ripple Labs, Uniswap Labs and more. "We are keeping our foot on the gas," Fairshake wrote in a release Thursday. "The crypto industry is in the best political and policy position it has ever been and we're proud to see a growing bipartisan coalition in Congress." Why it matters: The crypto industry is making clear its efforts in the 2024 election were just the beginning. The digital assets space launched a major lobbying effort behind pro-crypto candidates like Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) this past cycle as it seeks to play a larger role in Washington. Remember: Shortly before the November election, Coinbase said it plans to help boost membership with Stand with Crypto, the pro-crypto nonprofit it helped launch last year, to assist with the 2026 midterms. |
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News we've flagged from the intersection of tech and other topics: |
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- Perplexity AI will offer Perplexity Pro free for one year to all American public servants with a .gov email
- SoftBank in talks to invest up to $25 billion into OpenAI, reports Reuters.
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Branch out with other reads on The Hill: |
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NJ residents in disbelief over White House answer on drones |
Residents of New Jersey reacted with disbelief and frustration after the White House said mysterious drones seen in the skies were approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for research. The state has been the epicenter of a wave of drone sightings, some of them extremely large and some spotted near sensitive locations. There were fears the drones could be connected to foreign adversaries as residents questioned … |
Artists can copyright work they create using tools powered by artificial intelligence, as long as sufficient human creativity is involved, according to a new report from the U.S. Copyright Office. The report, published Wednesday, sought to address questions of copyrightability for work created by AI or with the help of AI-powered tools, amid an uptick in copyright applications for AI-generated work. The Copyright Office said … |
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Two key stories on The Hill right now: |
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President Trump on Thursday said he plans to follow through on Saturday on his threat to impose 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada. … Read more |
| Senate Republicans are shying away from backing President Trump's recent comments suggesting that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives … Read more |
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Opinions related to tech submitted to The Hill: |
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You're all caught up. See you tomorrow! |
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