DeepSeek Nearly Matches OpenAI's Gated Hacking Model
In Vals' simulated network attacks, a free DeepSeek model completed 72.8% of objectives against 80.8% for OpenAI's partner-only Daybreak, at a fraction of the cost.
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Reporting and context on DeepSeek, with a closer look at the decisions and developments that matter.
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At a glance
DeepSeek develops AI language and reasoning models. Coverage follows its research, open model releases and their implications for the AI industry.
- Focus
- Language models; reasoning; open model releases
- Reference
- DeepSeek
Reviewed 19 October 2026. Dates retain the precision of the source; retrospective disclosures are identified in the event. No verified public ARR or recognized-revenue series was established in this review. Model-training cost is not company revenue.
Company milestones
Revenue, funding, product launches and major company events, newest first. Expand the earlier milestones for more history.
Opens its in-house Search and Fetch API
DeepSeek adds developer access to its search engine, alongside a V4.1 Flash update.
Source: DeepSeekReleases V4.1 Flash
The new architecture adds native visual understanding and updates the commercial API model lineup.
Source: DeepSeek
Show earlier milestonesHide earlier milestones2026–2023 · 7 milestones
Earlier revenue, financing and company milestones.
V4 Pro reaches general availability
The release reaches app, web and API, adding native Responses API support.
Source: DeepSeekV4 Flash enters public beta
The API model advances agent capabilities ahead of V4 Pro’s general release.
Source: DeepSeekIntroduces the V4 family
V4 Pro and Flash enter the API; legacy model names begin a migration period.
Source: DeepSeekReleases V3.2
Thinking and non-thinking API modes move to a shared upgraded model generation.
Source: DeepSeekReleases R1 reasoning models
R1 and distilled models expand open-weight reasoning access under MIT licensing.
Source: DeepSeekReleases DeepSeek V3
The model upgrades the commercial chat API and establishes the base for subsequent reasoning releases.
Source: DeepSeekDeepSeek is founded
The Hangzhou-based research company begins developing language models, preceding its V3 and R1 releases.
Source: DeepSeek company profile
The latest on DeepSeek
Newest firstRelated reporting
Briefs, articles and relevant sections, newest first. Explore older coverage below.
More coverage
1 min read · Members
DeepSeek Lifts China Funding to 2018 Levels
DeepSeek's $15.9 billion round, reported two days after a US agency ban, is China's largest venture deal and lifted October funding to $59 billion.
1 min read · Members
DeepSeek's Claude Code Rival Is a Prototype
Headlines called DeepSeek's new open-source coding agent a Claude Code rival; its own README calls it a research prototype, not an official product.
1 min read · Members
Beijing Clears DeepSeek to Keep Selling Abroad
Six days after China proposed AI export controls, a state media account said DeepSeek and MiniMax had registered, while API and app sales stay unrestricted.
8 min read · Members
Sam and Dario Sell Legroom
The ten smartest AI models carry only 6% of the traffic on an open platform.
1 min read · Members
Beijing Defends DeepSeek, Still Blocks ChatGPT
China protested the US ban on DeepSeek in government systems as discrimination, while ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini remain unapproved in China itself.
7 min read · Members
Nvidia's Lost China Market Is Sold Out
Plus: Musk's Superintelligence Is a Landlord, DeepSeek Fought Washington's Ban
1 min read · Members
DeepSeek Opens Its Engine, Keeps the Plumbing
DeepSeek open sourced the engine behind V4.1-Flash and its 8 GPU-hour revenue, but kept the cache and load-balancing code a full service needs.
2 min read · Members
MiniMax Unmasks Space Bunny as M3.1 Flash
MiniMax revealed the anonymous Space Bunny model as M3.1 Flash, a cheaper update it says cuts agent task costs 70%, with self-reported benchmark scores.
1 min read · Members
DHS Bans DeepSeek and Everything It Touched
DHS barred DeepSeek from civilian agencies under a July order whose ban on anything "developed using" DeepSeek no vendor can verify, a security expert says.
