Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called for the United States to ramp up open-source AI efforts to address the rise of DeepSeek in a Washington Post op-ed published Tuesday.
Just last year, Schmidt said America was two or three years ahead of China. But DeepSeek’s rise marks “a turning point” for the global AI race, Schmidt said in the op-ed, proving China can compete with Big Tech using fewer resources.
To combat DeepSeek, Schmidt says America must develop more open-source models, invest in AI infrastructure efforts like Stargate, and encourage leading labs to share their training methodologies.
Schmidt has previously urged the U.S. to invest in AI, a recommendation his investments may benefit from. Schmidt’s White Stork startup could supply the U.S. military with AI drones one day. He’s also an investor in Holistic AI, which helps companies comply with AI regulation, as well as Augment, a rival to GitHub Copilot that uses open models.
