Palmer Luckey Gives His Take on Alleged DeepSeek Conspiracy to Undermine U.S. AI Startups
In a series of X posts that has sparked significant conversation in the tech community, Palmer Luckey, the founder of Anduril Industries and Oculus VR, has voiced strong skepticism regarding the recent buzz around the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek. Luckey, known for his forthright opinions, has accused DeepSeek of being at the center of a conspiracy orchestrated by a Chinese hedge fund to destabilize the American AI sector.
Luckey’s initial post, made on January 28, 2025, highlighted what he believes to be a false narrative surrounding DeepSeek’s AI model capabilities.
He stated, “DeepSeek is legitimately impressive, but the level of hysteria is an indictment of so many. The $5M number is bogus.”
According to Luckey, this figure, which suggests DeepSeek developed its AI model at a fraction of the cost typically seen in the U.S., is part of a larger scheme. He claims it’s being pushed to slow down investment in American AI startups, serve the interests of Chinese hedge funds shorting American tech giants like Nvidia, and cleverly hide activities related to sanction evasion.
“The hysteria around DeepSeek’s supposed cost-effectiveness and capabilities is nothing but a well-orchestrated psyop to undermine our tech sector,” Luckey added. He argues that America’s current media climate, which he describes as hostile towards U.S. tech companies, provides fertile ground for such operations, especially with the political backdrop involving figures like President Trump.
In a follow-up post, responding to a user questioning why markets might be buying into this narrative, Luckey elaborated, “The markets are not smarter on AI. The free hand is not yet efficient because the number of legitimate experts in the field is near-zero.” He suggests that the market’s reaction to DeepSeek’s claims is driven by individuals who are relatively new to understanding AI, thus easily swayed by sensationalist reporting.
Luckey’s thread didn’t stop there; he engaged with critics and supporters alike. When challenged by @CtrlAltDwayne about the open-source advantages of DeepSeek, Luckey retorted, “I love open-source AI. Your entire post is a non-sequitur,” indicating his support for open-source but dismissing the relevance of the argument in this context.
Another user, @teortaxesTex, challenged Luckey’s skepticism about DeepSeek’s cost claims, suggesting he might be misled. Luckey responded sharply, defending his credibility and experience in AI, “I am not a r*tard, r*tard, I have been working in AI for eight years now. This is only for V3 and ignores the cost of R1.” He accused DeepSeek of obscuring the true cost of their operations, particularly through alleged sanction evasion to access high-compute resources.
The thread also saw support from various users, with @No1Ticks simply stating “Truth!” in agreement with Luckey’s initial post, and @caruanab thanking him for standing up for American innovation, accompanied by an image of an eagle with the caption “FREEDOMS INTERNALLY” – a clear patriotic nod to Luckey’s stance.
Luckey’s critique of DeepSeek comes at a time when the AI startup has been making waves, not just for its technological prowess but also for its privacy concerns due to data storage practices and its competitive edge in the market, challenging global AI leaders like ChatGPT.
However, Luckey’s perspective sheds light on a potentially darker side of international tech competition, where economic warfare might be disguised as technological advancement. His take on the situation warns of the dangers of misinformation in the tech sector, especially when geopolitical tensions are at play.