Chinese startup DeepSeek’s eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc.’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of America’s lead in AI.

Apple lost the top spot in the Chinese smartphone market after a domestic brand replaced the iPhone as the country's top choice.

The Chinese app went viral over the weekend for its lightning fast and sharp reasoning capabilities.

Chinese tech startup DeepSeek ’s new artificial intelligence chatbot has sparked discussions about the competition between China and the U.S. in AI development, with many users flocking to test the rival of OpenAI’s ChatGPT.

This isn’t just about the TikTok precedent here. It’s about reciprocity, considering that China doesn’t allow products like ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Meta AI. Apple Intelligence is also unavailable in China, as Apple has to partner with a local AI provider to release it. By the way, TikTok is also unavailable in China.

DeepSeek's user registrations were halted by a massive cyber attack on the same day its AI app became the most downloaded on Apple's iPhone store.