10/02/2025
In early 2025, a relatively unknown AI company from China suddenly captured global attention. DeepSeek, a generative AI platform built with significantly fewer resources than its Western competitors, demonstrated that advanced large language models could be developed at a fraction of the cost. It’s pretty far from the truth, in fact AI has been a fantastic tool to support industries from travel and tourism, to cybersecurity and data. So with this advancing sector growing to an estimated $185 million globally, how does a small player disrupt the established enterprises? Well, DeepSeek AI has done just that.
What is DeepSeek?
What surprised many observers was not just the quality of the model, but the reported efficiency of its development. DeepSeek claimed that its models could be trained at dramatically lower cost compared with leading Western systems, raising questions about the economics of large-scale AI development.
The answer is simple – cost.
Global Impact
Western Ai platforms have access to funding, hardware, and time, but their products are being matched. The US industry utilizes fast processing chips that are manufactured in country, and the most up-to-date technology does not get exported. In Central & Eastern Europe, and Asia, companies are using this older tech and showing that fewer resources and less funding haven’t hindered them in creating a comparable product.
This leads to questions around the hardware coming from North America, and whether the cost is justified to create a platform that can be done with older processors. Should the established companies be paying money for cutting-edge technology that seems to be far from the cutting-edge?
“Local populations in CEU do so much more, with less resources.”
Nitin Bhudia, Global Head of Service Management & Engineering at Getronics.
It’s a disruptive revelation that DeepSeek AI has managed to make waves with a fraction of the resources, and whilst it does miss the flashy features that larger products boast, these features are extras that not everybody wants or needs. As a base generative AI provider, it is as good as the likes of ChatGPT.
But, what does this mean for companies like Getronics?
Getronics and AI
For enterprises, developments like DeepSeek highlight an important reality: the AI landscape is evolving rapidly, and new players can emerge unexpectedly. For technology partners such as Getronics, monitoring these developments is essential to ensure that clients benefit from the most efficient and secure AI capabilities available.
Getronics harnesses AI in several ways. Predictive programs support services like cybersecurity, and allow us to predict issues before they arise. We use AI as a secondary mind to order data sets, and provide insights for our partners.
The platform that DeepSeek has created differs from our own services, as it focuses as on an interface with customers and addresses their needs.
However, that doesn’t mean Getronics has not considered DeepSeek, and it’s uses. Getronics has a responsibility to keep an eye over new players that enter our industries, and DeepSeek is no different. An impressive newcomer, the company represents a necessary evolution for the AI industry, and pushes what people can expect from AI in their lives, and careers.
Whether DeepSeek represents a long-term shift in the economics of AI or simply a moment of disruption remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that competition in the generative AI market is accelerating rapidly – and organisations will need to stay agile to take advantage of these innovations.
