Recently, the technology investment sector has been buzzing with discussions surrounding DeepSeek, a rising player in the artificial intelligence fieldRumors circulated that the innovative company was considering a funding round valuing it at $10 billion, with Alibaba reportedly looking to invest $1 billion in exchange for equityThe conversations between the two teams were said to be ongoing, with Alibaba Cloud positioned as the top choice for inference computing powerHowever, these rumors were quickly dismissed by representatives from Alibaba.

On February 7, Yan Qiao, a Vice President at Alibaba Group, took to social media to clarify the situationHe remarked, "As fellow enterprises from Hangzhou, we applaud DeepSeek, but the reports of Alibaba investing in DeepSeek are false." This swift denial brought a halt to the fluctuations in Alibaba's stock price, which had surged by over 6% in pre-market trading due to the rumors, but fell back to a modest gain of around 3.08% post-denial, closing at $103.470 per share.

Despite Alibaba's dismissal of an investment deal, the interest surrounding DeepSeek remains unwaveringThe company has demonstrated impressive metrics, clocking over 20 million daily active users just 20 days after its launch, roughly 40% of ChatGPT's daily usersSuch performance has positioned DeepSeek as one of the most noteworthy AI companies currently in the spotlight.

With the rise of DeepSeek, the perspective of investors has begun to shiftNotable investor Zhu Xiaohu was emphatic when asked if he would invest should DeepSeek open up funding opportunities: “I would definitely invest! I would definitely invest!” He continued, "At this point, the price is not a primary concern; what matters is being a part of this." This statement stands in stark contrast to his previous year’s skepticism about large modelsWhen pressed about the dramatic shift in his perspective, Zhu stated, "DeepSeek is making me a believer in AGI (Artificial General Intelligence)." This response reflects the significant impact that DeepSeek has made within the investment community.

Delving into DeepSeek’s technological competencies, the company has showcased its formidable capabilities

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On January 20, the Chinese AI startup launched its large model, DeepSeek-R1. This open-source model competes with OpenAI's own offerings, attesting to its prowess in tackling mathematical computations, coding tasks, and natural language reasoningFor example, in mathematical problem-solving, DeepSeek-R1 adeptly tackles complex calculations, providing essential computational power for sectors such as research and financeIn areas of code generation, the model can produce high-quality code based on natural language prompts, significantly increasing software development efficiencyFurthermore, in natural language inference tasks, it demonstrates an adept understanding of textual meanings, engaging in logical reasoning and semantic analysisWith a MIT license, R1 supports free commercial use, allowing for modifications and derivative development.

This strategy of open-sourcing has fundamentally enhanced the sharing and innovation of technology, drawing in global developers to contributeMajor Chinese cloud giants including Alibaba, Tencent, Huawei, and Baidu have announced partnerships with DeepSeek, forming a robust “circle of friends.” The involvement of these tech giants not only widens DeepSeek's application scenarios and market channels but also fosters collaboration that optimizes and upgrades technologies, creating a mutually beneficial landscape.

Reflecting on Alibaba’s investment strategy, it has seen constant re-evaluation in recent yearsSince 2024, the tech giant has gradually divested stakes in renowned companies such as Kuaidi Dache, Bilibili, Momo, NetEase Cloud, and Xpeng Motors, alongside two notable asset sales in a month: selling Intime Retail for 7.4 billion Yuan and divesting complete holdings in Gome Retail, its parent company, for approximately 13.138 billion Hong Kong dollarsFrom a financial standpoint, these divestments help Alibaba streamline its asset structure, recoup capital, and mitigate financial risksInternal sources at Alibaba indicated that the company is orderly withdrawing from non-core assets, signaling a sharper strategic focus on its primary business sectors.

In this context, even though Alibaba has denied investing in DeepSeek, their future investment landscape in AI remains a point of intrigue

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