OpenAI has been the dominant force in the AI landscape for years, with its models powering solutions like ChatGPT, GitHub Copilot, and Microsoft's AI offerings. While OpenAI has done an incredible job, cost remains one barrier for many businesses and developers. Where OpenAI's name suggests openness, but its usage is primarily commercial.
Enter DeepSeek—a potential disruptor that could reshape the market with its bold approach to affordability, accessibility, and innovation. https://www.deepseek.com/
Why DeepSeek Stands Out:
💡 Cost-Effectiveness
DeepSeek's pricing model is groundbreaking:
DeepSeek: $0.14 per million input tokens (with cache hit)
OpenAI: $7.50 per million input tokens
Source: https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news250120 deepseek docs
This cost difference is game-changing for startups, small businesses, and even larger enterprises looking to scale their AI initiatives without breaking the bank.
💡 Open Source Advantage
Unlike OpenAI, DeepSeek is fully open source. This encourages collaboration, transparency, and flexibility—key factors for fostering innovation and empowering developers to tailor solutions to their needs.
💡 Accuracy and Performance
Early benchmarks suggest that DeepSeek delivers accuracy and performance on par with OpenAI. With this combination of affordability and quality, DeepSeek positions itself as a strong alternative for AI-driven solutions.
Source: https://api-docs.deepseek.com/news/news250120 deepseek docs
Why This Matters:
The AI industry has long needed competition to push boundaries, lower costs, and democratize access. DeepSeek's approach could pressure established players to rethink their pricing strategies, ultimately benefiting the end-users.
It’s still early days, but DeepSeek could represent a pivotal moment for AI accessibility and innovation.
What do you think? Could this be the start of a new era in the AI market? Let’s discuss!
How to Install and Run DeepSeek on Your Local Machine
If you're excited about exploring the capabilities of DeepSeek, an open-source AI model that’s making waves for its affordability and performance, you’re in the right place. In this guide, I’ll walk you through the steps to install and run DeepSeek on your local machine using Ollama, a powerful tool for managing and running AI models.
Prerequisites
Before we begin, ensure your machine meets the following requirements:
Hardware: A decent amount of RAM and storage (at least 8GB RAM and 2GB free storage).
Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux (this guide focuses on Windows).
Internet Connection: To download the necessary files.
Step 1: Download Ollama
Ollama is a lightweight tool that simplifies the process of running AI models locally. Here’s how to get started:
Download the OllamaSetup.exe file for Windows.
Run the installer and follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.
Step 2: Download the DeepSeek Model
Once Ollama is installed, you’ll need to download the DeepSeek model. For this guide, we’ll use the DeepSeek 1.5B model, which is lightweight and perfect for local experimentation.
Open the command prompt or terminal on your machine.
Run the following command to download the DeepSeek 1.5B model: ollama pull deepseek-r1:1.5b
This will download the model, which is approximately 1.1GB in size.
With the model downloaded, you’re ready to initialize and interact with it. run the below command on your machne
In the command prompt, run the following command
After setting up DeepSeek 1.5B on my local machine using Ollama, I ran a few queries to test its capabilities. While the model is impressively lightweight (only 1.1GB in size) and runs smoothly on my system, I noticed that its training data seems to be a bit outdated.