DeepSeek Delays AI Model Due to Huawei Chip Issues

Aug 14, 2025
DeepSeek's latest AI model release has been postponed due to challenges in training with Huawei's chips, highlighting China's reliance on U.S. technology.

DeepSeek has delayed the release of its new AI model after encountering difficulties in training with Huawei's chips, according to the Financial Times. The Chinese startup initially attempted to use Huawei's Ascend processors for training its R2 model but faced persistent technical issues.

Encouraged by authorities to adopt Huawei's technology over Nvidia's, DeepSeek found the Ascend chips unsuitable for training, although they are still being used for inference. This setback has delayed the model's launch from May, causing the company to lose ground to competitors.

The challenges faced by DeepSeek underscore the limitations of Chinese chips compared to their U.S. counterparts, as the company continues to work with Huawei to resolve these issues. Despite Huawei's support, including sending engineers to assist, DeepSeek has yet to achieve a successful training run on the Ascend chips.

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