Tech experts and traders in China and the United States are discussing the new growth of DeepSeek and Alibaba’s Qwen artificial intelligence programs. Despite being limited, specific details about the Chinese executive teams are still unknown.  ,
A clearer image of how DeepSeek and Qwen came to be may be aided by an Asia Times research using people information about the origins of the two chatbot designers.
According to research papers and media reports, the engineering teams at Qwen and DeepSeek do no work or clash.  ,
The only link between the trio is that DeepSeek’s scientists said in a report on January 22 this year that they had “distilled” Qwen2.5, and even Meta’s Llama, to create DeepSeek-R1. The start of DeepSeek-R1 caused a slump in the US property market in late January.  ,  ,
Some experts believe that DeepSeek, an open-source AI, may also have used “knowledge extraction” to collect data from OpenAI’s ChatGPT and teach its AI models. No convincing proof has been made available that it did so, though.  ,
According to the January 22 paper, DeepSeek-R1 has 16 core contributors, some of whom have direct connections with Microsoft Research Asia ( MSRA ) and the China Computer Federation (CCF).  ,
In his PhD programme at Beihang University from 2014 to 2019, Core source Yu Wu was overseen by MSRA’s Ming Zhou. Before joining MSRA as an affiliate scholar in 2019, he worked full-time from 2013 to 2019.  ,  ,
Ming Zhou also oversaw Daya Guo, the main source, during his PhD at Guangzhou’s Sun Yat-sen University from 2018 to 2023. He was mentored by Nan Duan in 2020-2023 and by Duyu Tang in 2017-2020 in MSRA’s Organic Language Computing Group.  ,  ,
Core participants Zhibin Gou and Zhihong Shao, both from Tsinghua University, co-wrote paperwork with MSRA’s Nan Duan.  ,
Zhenda Xie, another source to DeepSeek, was advised by MSRA’s distinguished professor Baining Guo at Tsinghua University from 2018 to 2023. During the same time, he even interned as a study scientist for MSRA.  ,  ,
Nan Duan and Zhou Ming continue to work for MSRA. In 2016 and 2018, they simultaneously led the CCF’s Computer Terminology Approval Working Committee. Zhou is currently serving as vice chairman at CCF.
The relationship between DeepSeek’s staff and MSRA experts, of training, does not mean that MSRA has any interest in the Hangzhou-based business. But, if the US were to impose more pressure on China’s tech industry, MSRA may have to cease its work and internship programs in China.
Due to concerns about their ties to the People’s Liberation Army, MSRA apparently stopped hiring volunteers from seven Foreign institutions and the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications in early 2023.
Among these institutions are the Harbin Institute of Technology ( HIT ) and the US-sanctioned Northwestern Polytechnical University ( NPU)  ,  ,
DAMO Academy ,
The Hangzhou-based Alibaba, founded by Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, developed its robot different.
Alibaba, uniting income flowing from its e-commerce companies, established the DAMO Academy in 2017 to conduct AI research. DAMO stands for Discovery, Adventure, Momentum and Outlook.  ,  ,
The club established an advisory panel of 10 famous teachers and scientists, six from the US and four from Chinese institutions.  ,  ,
The DAMO Academy will be run by Alibaba’s Chief Technology Officer Jingren Zhou. Zhou received his laptop science PhD from American universities Columbia. Before joining Alibaba in July 2016, he was a Microsoft R&, D lover for four decades.  ,
Chang Zhou, an engine engineer who was responsible for Qwen’s information control, joined DAMO Academy in 2017. He received his PhD from Peking University in 2017 and graduated from Fudan University in 2012.  ,
Before joining Alibaba, he had previously collaborated with the company’s application professionals on a few projects and co-authored two documents with them in 2017. Jun Gao, a teacher at Peking University, was one of the co-writers.  ,  ,
Gao, who earned his Doctorate from Peking University in 2003, has published more than 30 study publications. He has projects that are supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China ( NSFC) and the China’s 863 Program.  ,  ,
In March 1986, 200 leading Chinese researchers proposed the 863 Programme to then-Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The system was established by the government in November of that year.
In 2022, Chang Zhou co-wrote a research paper with a group of researchers, including Peking University’s Bin Cui, who likewise led some projects funded by the 863 System.  ,
Cui is currently the Technical Committee on Databases at CCF and the evil dean of Peking University’s School of Computer Science.  ,  ,
Next July, Chang Zhou decided to take along a group of about 10 technicians to meet ByteDance. Alibaba officially filed a complaint against Zhou, claiming he wasn’t entitled to visit a competitor.  ,
Qwen over DeepSeek
Alibaba’s analysis team appears to have a stronger advisory committee than DeepSeek. Additionally, it has a more extensive background in analysis on data management.  ,
This may explain why Alibaba may create an original AI type called Qwen2.5, while DeepSeek has merely produced distilled versions of different AI models. This is probably why Apple Inc. and Alibaba just collaborated to create AI-powered handsets.  ,
In a recent article, IT journalist Amanda Caswell reported that Qwen2.5 outperforms Deep-R1 in all of her checks. She says Qwen2.5 offers more organized and readable solutions, while DeepSeek-R1’s responses lack detail and uniqueness.  ,
Both Qwen and DeepSeek are crucial from Beijing’s standpoint because they support China’s industry’s development and prevent US sanctions and dispersion.
According to reports, Chinese President Xi Jinping will soon lead a conference to raise public opinion of the private sector. Attended may be DeepSeek leader Liang Wenfeng and Alabaco co-founder Jack Ma.  ,
Yong Jian contributes to the Asia Times. He is a Chinese blogger who specializes in Chinese technologies, economy and politics.  ,
Read: Apple companions with Alibaba to promote AI-powered iPhones in China