Upcoming DeepSeek AI model failed to train using Huawei’s chips

Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek delayed the release of its new model after failing to train it using Huawei’s chips, highlighting the limits of Beijing’s push to replace US technology.

DeepSeek was encouraged by authorities to adopt Huawei’s Ascend processor rather than use Nvidia’s systems after releasing its R1 model in January, according to three people familiar with the matter.

But the Chinese startup encountered persistent technical issues during its R2 training process using Ascend chips, prompting it to use Nvidia chips for training and Huawei’s for inference, said the people.

The issues were the main reason the model’s launch was delayed from May, said a person with knowledge of the situation, causing it to lose ground to rivals.

Training involves the model learning from a large dataset, while inference refers to the step of using a trained model to make predictions or generate a response, such as a chatbot query.

DeepSeek’s difficulties show how Chinese chips still lag behind their US rivals for critical tasks, highlighting the challenges facing China’s drive to be technologically self-sufficient.

The Financial Times this week reported that Beijing has demanded that Chinese tech companies justify their orders of Nvidia’s H20, in a move to encourage them to promote alternatives made by Huawei and Cambricon.

Industry insiders have said the Chinese chips suffer from stability issues, slower inter-chip connectivity, and inferior software compared with Nvidia’s products.

Huawei sent a team of engineers to DeepSeek’s office to help the company use its AI chip to develop the R2 model, according to two people. Yet despite having the team on site, DeepSeek could not conduct a successful training run on the Ascend chip, said the people.