DeepSeek founder in no rush to make money

The founder of Chinese artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek has turned down proposals to monetize its programs quickly, fearing external influence over the company’s decision-making, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Founder Liang Wenfeng is also cautious about government-linked investors, the sources said, as he believes the connection to Beijing could make it harder to win global adoption of DeepSeek’s AI models.

Flooded with millions of users, DeepSeek’s chatbot has faced frequent service disruptions. Regulators worldwide are restricting its use over data security concerns, and the US is also weighing measures that include banning it from government devices.

Liang has been invited to join other prominent Chinese entrepreneurs in a meeting with President Xi Jinping on February 17.

The state-owned Bank of China has also offered to grant a low-interest loan to the company, WSJ said, citing sources.

In recent weeks, executives from major Chinese technology companies including Tencent (0700) and Alibaba (9988) have met with Liang to discuss potential cooperation, WSJ reported.

They reportedly said Liang did not want to charge for DeepSeek’s core AI models, which are currently free.

STAFF REPORTER