DeepSeek gets Silicon Valley talking | TechCrunch
Welcome back to Week in Review. This week we’re looking at DeepSeek’s major boost in the U.S.; Elon Musk admitting he was wrong about FSD; teens losing trust in Big Tech; and more! Let’s do it.
DeepSeek making waves in the tech industry
DeepSeek went viral this week after its AI models led Wall Street analysts and technologists to question whether the U.S. can maintain its lead in the AI race — and whether the demand for AI chips will sustain. DeepSeek even claims that its R1 “reasoning” model performs as well as OpenAI’s o1 model on key benchmarks. To learn more about DeepSeek, check out this detailed overview.
Legal challenges faced by Perplexity
Perplexity has been sued in federal court for allegedly violating another company’s trademark. The AI startup is facing allegations of trademark infringement and is currently embroiled in a legal battle over its brand name usage.
Google's employee exit program
Google is implementing a “voluntary exit program” for Android, Chrome, and Pixel employees this week, as reported in this internal memo by Google SVP Rick Osterloh. This initiative comes following the merger of Google's separate teams into a unified division.
Recent Developments
Other notable developments in the tech industry this week include:
- Waymo's expansion to Los Angeles: Waymo’s driverless robotaxis are heading to the Los Angeles freeway system for testing.
- Meta's focus on younger Facebook users: Mark Zuckerberg hinted at a return to the original Facebook to attract a younger audience.
- Bookshop.org's new e-book platform: Bookshop.org introduces a platform for buying e-books and supporting independent bookstores.
- Elon Musk's admission regarding Tesla vehicles: Musk acknowledges the need for hardware upgrades in some Tesla cars to support self-driving features.
- Meta AI's personalized responses: Meta AI now leverages Facebook and Instagram data to personalize chatbot interactions.
For more details on these stories and others, make sure to check out the corresponding articles on TechCrunch.
