Title: “Transitioning from Hedge Fund Manager to AI Startup Founder”
Liang Wenfeng, the founder of DeepSeek, has had a unique career journey from managing a quant trading hedge fund called High-Flyer to establishing an AI startup. Unlike typical AI pioneers associated with Silicon Valley, Liang comes from a finance background. After co-founding High-Flyer in 2015, he integrated AI into the fund’s trading strategies to forecast market trends and guide investment decisions. In 2021, Liang embarked on an AI side project by purchasing thousands of Nvidia chips, eventually leading to the launch of DeepSeek in 2023.
Despite initial skepticism from acquaintances who viewed his AI endeavors as a mere hobby, Liang’s vision and dedication have paid off. DeepSeek is now disrupting the U.S. stock market with its cost-effective development of advanced AI technology. By recruiting top talent from Chinese universities and emphasizing research, Liang aims to position DeepSeek as a leading player in the AI industry.
In a recent interview, Liang highlighted his ambitions for DeepSeek and China’s broader AI strategy. He emphasized the importance of driving technological innovation domestically rather than relying on external advancements for profit. By focusing on advancing the technological frontier and ecosystem growth, Liang envisions a sustainable future for AI development in China.
The landscape of development has shifted significantly, with ByteDance and Tencent emerging as major global players reaping substantial profits. According to Liang, the issue now isn’t a lack of capital, but rather a need for confidence and the capacity to rally top-tier talent for effective innovation.
DeepSeek operates on an open-source model, in contrast to OpenAI, a decision Liang views as advantageous rather than a drawback. He argues that opting for a closed-source approach wouldn’t deter competitors from catching up, while being open-source actually offers a competitive edge.
Liang emphasizes that DeepSeek’s true strength lies in the growth of its team, fostering an innovative culture and accumulating expertise. He believes that sharing breakthroughs and publishing papers does not result in significant losses; instead, it garners recognition and talent, making open-source a cultural asset beyond just commercial benefits.
Describing DeepSeek as a bottom-up organization, Liang highlights the natural emergence of division of labor without rigid hierarchies, enabling seamless collaboration. However, once an idea shows promise, resources are allocated top-down by management.
DeepSeek embraces an open approach to accessing computing resources and personnel, allowing anyone with a promising idea to utilize “training clusters” and meeting rooms freely to encourage spontaneous interactions and creative synergies.
Liang underscores his belief that innovation is fundamentally rooted in confidence and daring to experiment, drawing parallels with Silicon Valley’s innovative spirit. Despite initial skepticism in China surrounding frontier research like the launch of ChatGPT, Liang advocates for fostering confidence in innovation, particularly among the younger generation who often possess more of it.
This article was originally published on Fortune.com.
