DeepSeek’s ‘Tech Madman’ Is Threatening US Dominance Over AI

With his wispy frame and reserved style, Liang Wenfeng can come off as shy, nervous even, in meetings. The founder of DeepSeek—the Chinese startup that recently upended the world of artificial intelligence—is prone to faltering speech and prolonged silences. But new hires learn quickly not to mistake his quiet rumination for timidity. Once Liang processes the finer points of a discussion, he fires off precise, hard-to-answer questions about model architecture, computing costs and the other intricacies of DeepSeek’s AI systems.

Employees refer to Liang as lǎo bǎn, or “boss,” a common sign of respect for business superiors in ...