This Startup Wants to Spark a US DeepSeek Moment

Ever since DeepSeek burst onto the scene in January, momentum has grown around open source Chinese artificial intelligence models. Some researchers are pushing for an even more open approach to building AI that allows model-making to be distributed across the globe.

Prime Intellect, a startup specializing in decentralized AI, is currently training a frontier large language model, called INTELLECT-3, using a new kind of distributed reinforcement learning for fine-tuning. The model will demonstrate a new way to build competitive open AI models using a range of hardware in different locations in a way that does not rely on big tech companies, says Vincent Weisser, the company’s CEO.

Weisser says that the AI world is currently divided between those who rely on closed US models and those who use open Chinese offerings. The technology Prime Intellect is developing democratizes AI by letting more people build and modify advanced AI for ...