The little-known artificial intelligence firm has emphasized research, even as it emerged as the brainchild of a hedge fund.

Stocks rise on bets investors will look for cheaper options after DeepSeek’s popular low-cost AI model sparked a US$1 trillion tech rout.

UBS estimates US$236 billion of fund inflows in 2025 as a result of Beijing’s directive to funds to shore up the capital markets.

HONG KONG: Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index ended Tuesday’s half-day trading slightly higher, with tech shares and consumption stocks helping the gain ahead of the city’s Lunar New Year holiday. The market will be closed for the rest of the week. China market was closed for the public holiday beginning Tuesday.

So much for the quiet pre-holiday trading session as Asian equities were mixed though Australia was closed for Australia Day, Indonesia was closed for Al Isra’ wal-Mi’raj, South Korea was closed for the Korean New Year,

DeepSeek is just one of many Chinese companies working on AI to make China the world leader in the field by 2030.

Hong Kong stocks rallied on Monday, with the Hang Seng Index gaining over 500 points at one point during the afternoon trading session. The index touched a high of 20,093.65 before closing at 19,925.81,

Asian stocks traded flat-to-lower on Tuesday, led by a sharp decline in Japanese markets as chipmaking stocks took a hit. Concerns emerged over DeepSeeks new AI model, which rivals advanced AI technologies like ChatGPT

DeepSeek’s emergence has raised concerns that China may have overtaken the US in the artificial intelligence race despite restrictions on its access to the most advanced chips.

With China's DeepSeek AI model rocking the U.S. tech sector, some tech-heavy aggressive investors may wish to diversify into the Chinese market. Undoubtedly, Chinese internet stocks have been under serious pressure for many years now.

Previously little-known Chinese startup DeepSeek has dominated headlines and app charts in recent days thanks to its new AI chatbot, which sparked a global tech sell-off that wiped billions off Silicon Valley’s biggest companies and shattered assumptions of America’s dominance of the tech race.

I recently had the privilege of speaking with Silas Chu about Hong Kong's evolution, trade fair initiatives, and growing global opportunities.