China’s DeepSeek releases preview of long-awaited V4 model as AI race intensifies

DeepSeek reportedly has not shared its upcoming AI model with American engineers and instead granted early access to Chinese companies, further intensifying the technological war between the U.S. and China, as of Feb. 26, 2026.

Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek on Friday released a preview version of its long-awaited V4 large language model, allowing users to test its new capabilities and features. 

The release comes more than a year after DeepSeek introduced its R1 reasoning model, which rocked global tech markets due to its surprising performance and efficiency, despite reportedly being developed for much lower costs than U.S. rivals. 

Similar to DeepSeek’s previous V3 model, the latest upgrade is open source, allowing developers to download the code, run it locally, and modify it.

The Hangzhou-based company claimed that V4 achieves strong performance against domestic competitors, particularly in agent-based tasks, knowledge processing and inference.

The company added that DeepSeek-V4 has been optimized for use with popular agent tools such as Anthropic’s Claude Code and OpenClaw.

The model is available in both a “pro” and a “flash” version, depending on size. 

Founded in 2023, DeepSeek gained attention in late 2024 with its free, open-source V3 model, which it said was trained with less powerful chips and at a fraction of the cost of models built by the likes of OpenAI and Google.

Weeks later, in January 2025, it released a reasoning model, R1, that hit similar benchmarks or outperformed many of the world’s leading LLMs.

The emergence of a globally competitive open-source model raised questions in tech markets about how the scale of spending on AI infrastructure would be impacted.

Since then, DeepSeek has released a series of model upgrades, but none have matched the impact of R1.

The company now faces growing competition in China’s booming AI sector, with players like Alibaba and ByteDance also releasing new models this year.

Why China's DeepSeek is putting America's AI lead in jeopardy
Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Vesper Holdings Expands its Student Housing Portfolio in Michigan with Acquisition of Gateway Lofts Lansing

Vesper Holdings announces its acquisition of Gateway Lofts Lansing, a student housing community located pedestrian to Michigan State University Gateway Lofts Lansing Vesper Holdings announces its acquisition of Gateway Lofts Lansing, a student housing community located pedestrian to Michigan State University New York, New York, Aug. 19, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vesper Holdings (“Vesper”), a

Level 1, 2 And 3 EV Chargers: Which Is Better To Use?

Provided you don’t drive long distances every day, Level 1 charging could be all you need. Daisy-daisy/Getty Images If you’re a new electric vehicle owner, you may be surprised to learn just how many charging options you have available, both at home and to extend your range on the road. While the industry

When Is It Worth Using A Bike Computer Over A Smartphone?

Your phone may be all you need until battery life, navigation or rough conditions start getting in the way. StoryTime Studio/Shutterstock Most of what a casual cyclist wants from a bike computer can already be accomplished with a smartphone. Install it in a secure handlebar mount and it will give you turn-by-turn directions,

Is this the FTSE 250’s best ‘unicorn’ stock?

Image source: Getty Images The UK is not taking advantage of some very favourable business conditions. This is one of the biggest complaints about the modern state of the country. We have world-leading research hubs, three of the global top 10 universities, and the ability to attract the best talent. And where has it got

Bill Gates Says It’s ‘Completely Irresponsible’ For AI To Not Have Safeguards

The Microsoft co-founder said that the more present danger is bad actors with access to AI tools. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images After several CEOs of leading AI companies have agreed on slowing down the pace of AI development, Bill Gates has offered supporting sentiments and called for more regulation and safeguards. In an interview

Here’s how Buy Canadian scanner apps did on identifying food origins

A bottle of Heinz tomato ketchup and a bag of Redpath granulated sugar are pictured in Toronto, on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS Smartphone apps promising to help shoppers identify Canadian groceries have popped up since the onset of trade tensions with the United States last year. But how do these apps compare?

Your Samsung phone isn’t charging at full speed because of this hidden setting

You finally bit the bullet and bought a fast charger for your Samsung, but for some reason, you’re not getting anywhere near the advertised charging speeds. As it turns out, there’s a surprisingly well-hidden option in the settings that needs to be switched on before your phone can take advantage of its fastest charging speeds.

Mobile phone retailers to protest against UPI MDR charges on October 2

The government has introduced a 0.4% fee on UPI transfers exceeding ₹2,000 to merchants from October 15, while exempting person-to-person transactions as well as small payments from any charges. Representative file image. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto Mobile phone retailers across India plan to observe October 2 as “No UPI Day” in protest against 0.4%

Which Chinese Smartphone Brand Makes The Best Phones?

Cheng Xin/Getty Images The world of smartphones is much larger than just Apple and Samsung. In fact, it goes far beyond even Google and Motorola, which tend to endcap the display tables at the carrier store or Best Buy. Truth is, there isn’t as much competition among

The new threat from Russia and China is in your mobile phone

Thousands of Britons are running the risk of having their personal data harvested by using Russian and Chinese companies while shopping online or using dating apps, The i Paper can reveal. These firms offer temporary UK phone numbers to consumers looking to protect their privacy online, allowing people to obtain verification codes to open or

Meta Launches $1 Million Competition For “Hands-First” Apps Ahead Of VR Glasses

The Meta VR Start Developer Competition 2026 will award new “hands-first” Quest and VR Glasses apps, as well as adapted or significantly updated experiences, a total of $1 million across 20 prizes of up to $100,000. Meta VR Start, previously called Meta Horizon Start and originally Oculus Start, is a program run by Meta that

Samsung, Motorola, Oppo: Best mobile phones under $500 in Australia

Apple’s new foldable iPhone Duo starts at a whopping $3,499 in Australia, while Samsung’s Galaxy A17 5G can be picked up for as little as $1 a month. Yet both can handle most of the things we do every day, from streaming and social media to navigation, video calls and taking photos. So what does

The Ashinaga Kyoto Internship Program 2014 concluded (6-15 September 2014)

Over a ten-day period in September, Kyoto University hosted the second half of this year’s Kyoto Internship Program, which was organized in partnership with the Ashinaga scholarship foundation. The participants comprised 30 students from some of the world’s top universities – mostly those based in Europe and the United States, such as the University of

4 free apps that made my old Android phone feel new again

I have an old Galaxy S22, which is about four years old now. It’s technically a flagship from 2022, but it runs nothing like one in 2026. The thing is, making an old phone feel fast isn’t all about reducing animations and disabling features like RAM Plus. I’d already done all of that last year.

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x