That was swift.

Just a few days after the Chinese AI firm **DeepSeek** launched its latest reasoning model, **DeepSeek R1**, the company’s iOS application soared to the top of Apple’s App Store, ousting OpenAI’s **ChatGPT**, which has now dropped to second place.

DeepSeek asserts that its R1 model excels beyond its rivals on various crucial benchmarks, and preliminary assessments appear to support this claim. In practical tests, the model demonstrated its prowess by aiding in tasks such as creating a web project in mere minutes and even refining chess strategies.

Nonetheless, what genuinely distinguishes DeepSeek and propels its swift ascent is its **open-source approach** and **cost-effective pricing**. The platform is available for free on both web and mobile platforms, and its API access is significantly cheaper than that of OpenAI’s most sophisticated reasoning model. Over the weekend, social media was abuzz with instances of users operating DeepSeek on basic hardware or utilizing it for intricate tasks, further enhancing its popularity.

The outcome? DeepSeek is now ranked as the **#1 app on Apple’s App Store** and holds the position of the **20th most popular app on Google Play**.

The unexpected triumph of DeepSeek might also bear wider repercussions, especially for the U.S. stock market. Nvidia, presently the largest entity by market capitalization, may encounter hurdles as DeepSeek’s model is said to necessitate much less investment in hardware relative to U.S.-based AI models like Meta’s **Llama** and OpenAI’s ChatGPT. This may lead to a decline in demand for Nvidia’s high-performance GPUs, which are extensively utilized in AI development. Consequently, NASDAQ futures dropped 3.2% ahead of Monday’s market opening.

DeepSeek’s swift rise indicates a transformation in the AI arena, with the company establishing itself as a formidable rival to established entities like OpenAI and Meta. For users, it’s an exhilarating moment to delve into this new player in the AI domain.