BEIJING – Before DeepSeek shook up the tech world and put Chinese artificial intelligence on the map, Mr Wu Chenglin’s own startup had nearly folded three times – but in 2025 it has raised $30 million.

The January 2025 release of a low-cost generative AI model from DeepSeek that performed at a similar level to ChatGPT and other top American chatbots upended assumptions of US dominance in the sensitive sector.