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NVIDIA scientist lauds former intern’s bold move to join DeepSeek; calls for more talent in AI

DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, has caused a stir in Silicon Valley with the launch of its ChatGPT-like AI model at a modest training cost of only $6 million.

A visual representation of an Intern working on DeepSeek AI model (AI generated image: META)

DeepSeek, the Chinese AI platform, is shaking up the tech industry and the stock market alike. One of its researchers, Zizheng Pan, recently shared a proud moment on social media—DeepSeek had climbed to the top of Apple’s App Store’s free apps chart. “This moment is absolutely phenomenal to me,” he wrote, posting a screenshot of the ranking.

Now, Nvidia’s principal research scientist, Zhiding Yu, has applauded Pan’s success in a heartfelt post. Yu revealed that Pan had interned at Nvidia during the summer of 2023, and the company was on the verge of offering him a full-time position. However, Pan took a leap of faith and joined DeepSeek instead—when it was still a tiny startup with just three team members. Looking back, that risk has clearly paid off.

“Zizheng was one of our interns at NVIDIA back in summer 2023. Later, when we were considering to make him a FT offer, he chose to join DeepSeek without much hesitance,” Yu shared on X.

Zizheng was one of our interns at NVIDIA back in summer 2023. Later, when we were considering to make him a FT offer, he chose to join DeepSeek without much hesitance. Back then, the DeepSeek multimodal team only has 3 people.

I am still very much impressed by Zizheng’s decision… https://t.co/D6k6XGgvEn

— Zhiding Yu (@ZhidingYu) January 27, 2025

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Yu expressed deep admiration for Pan’s decision to join DeepSeek, calling it a remarkable choice. “I am still very much impressed by Zizheng’s decision at that time,” he wrote. “He has been an important contributor to several key projects at DeepSeek, including DeepSeek-VL2, DeepSeek-V3, and DeepSeek-R1. I am personally very happy for his decision and the great achievements.”

Yu also took the opportunity to address the ongoing China versus US narrative, cautioning that such thinking could ultimately harm the long-term interests of the United States of America. He pointed out that some of the most talented individuals in the US come from China, and that they don’t need to work for US companies to thrive.

Also Read | Chinese AI startup DeepSeek catapults to Google’s top trend with 5 lakh searches in a day

“Zizheng’s case is a very typical example of what I have witnessed in recent years. Many of our best talents come from China, and these talents don’t have to succeed only in a US company. Instead, we learn a lot from them. The same Sputnik Moment has already happened in AV back in 2022, and it will continue to happen in Robotics and LLM industry as well,” Yu wrote on X.

“The industry needs more talent density, professionalism, learning, creativity, and stronger execution,” said Yu, wrapping up his post.

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DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup, has caused a stir in Silicon Valley with the launch of its ChatGPT-like AI model. Despite a modest training cost of only $6 million, DeepSeek R1 has delivered performance on par with OpenAI’s o1 model, which was backed by billions of dollars in investment from both OpenAI and Microsoft.

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