Key Takeaways
- Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is urgently hiring for product and design roles, signaling a move towards selling
its technology. - This marks a shift from the company’s previous focus on pure AI research and model development.
- DeepSeek gained attention for its powerful yet low-cost, open-source AI models that compete with top global
players. - The company founder emphasizes creativity and passion over experience when hiring talent.
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup that made waves earlier this year, is now looking for product talent. In a job notice
posted on WeChat, the company announced an “urgent” need for people in “product and design” roles based in Beijing
and Hangzhou.
This hiring push suggests DeepSeek is shifting gears from developing cutting-edge AI research to building actual
products people can use. The company aims to create the “next generation of intelligent product experience” built
around its AI models.
Candidates need product management backgrounds and skills in product and visual design, according to the notice
reported by Business
Insider. DeepSeek is also seeking a chief financial officer and chief operating officer, though these roles
weren’t marked as urgent.
Founded just last year, DeepSeek quickly gained recognition after releasing its low-cost R1 AI model in January. The
startup claims this model rivals top competitors like OpenAI’s GPT-4 but costs much less to run. They also recently
upgraded another open-source model, V3.
Experts see DeepSeek’s approach as significant for China’s AI ambitions. Wei Sun, an analyst at Counterpoint Research, told
Business Insider that DeepSeek’s models, especially because they are open-source, mark a “significant inflection
point.”
Unlike many major US models kept private, DeepSeek makes models like R1 and V3 freely available for others to use and
modify. This open strategy has led to integrations within major Chinese tech platforms.
Analyst Ray Wang mentioned that tech giant Tencent is using DeepSeek R1 in its ecosystem, including the massive
WeChat social media app used by nearly 1.4 billion people. Baidu has also reportedly integrated the model into its
search engine.
Despite the focus on product roles, DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng has previously stated he prioritizes talent over
track record. In a 2023 interview, he noted that “experience is not that important,” valuing “basic skills,
creativity, and passion” more, especially for core technical positions often filled by recent graduates.
This drive for product expertise mirrors a wider trend in the AI industry, where bridging advanced technology with user
needs is becoming crucial. While companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are hiring product managers, others like
Microsoft are reportedly rethinking the balance between engineers and product staff.
