Chaos at DeepSeek as R2 launch crashes into hardware problems rivals gain huge advantage

Date:
Sat, 16 Aug 2025 15:09:00 +0000

Description:
Huawei hardware struggles cause DeepSeek to postpone its AI model release, exposing gaps in domestic AI tools and emphasizing the contrast with competitors smoother deployment.

FULL STORY ======================================================================DeepSeek
delays R2 launch due to persistent technical difficulties with Huawei Ascend chips Nvidia H20 systems remain more reliable for AI training than domestic Ascend hardware Alibabas Qwen3 exploits DeepSeeks delays, incorporating core algorithms while improving efficiency and flexibility

Chinese AI giant DeepSeek has apparently encountered unexpected delays in releasing its latest model, R2, after facing persistent technical
difficulties with Huaweis Ascend chips.

The company had been encouraged by Chinese authorities to adopt domestic processors instead of relying on Nvidias H20 systems , which are generally regarded as more mature and reliable.

Despite Huawei engineers being on-site to assist, DeepSeek could not complete a successful training run using Ascend chips - and as a result, the company relied on Nvidia hardware for training while using Ascend for inference
tasks. Technical challenges delay R2 development

The R2 launch, originally scheduled for May 2025, was postponed due to these technical obstacles and longer-than-expected data labeling for the updated training dataset.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng reportedly expressed dissatisfaction with the models progress, emphasizing the need for additional development time to produce a model capable of maintaining DeepSeeks competitive edge.

Meanwhile, competitors like Alibabas Qwen3 were able to take advantage of
this delay, as it has incorporated DeepSeeks core training algorithms while improving efficiency and flexibility, showing how rapidly AI ecosystems can evolve even when a single startup struggles.

Beijings broader push for AI self-sufficiency has placed pressure on domestic firms to adopt local hardware.

In practice, however, this strategy has revealed gaps in stability,
inter-chip connectivity, and software maturity between Huawei chips and
Nvidia products.

Developers continue to play a crucial role in shaping the success of AI ecosystems - Nvidia has emphasized maintaining access to Chinese developers
is strategically important, warning that restricting technology adoption
could harm economic and national security interests.

Chinese AI companies, meanwhile, must balance government pressures with practical realities in developing and deploying LLMs .

Despite these setbacks, DeepSeeks R2 model may still be released in the
coming weeks.

The model is likely to face scrutiny regarding its performance relative to rivals trained on more mature hardware, offering a clear example of the tension between political ambitions, technical capability, and real-world AI deployment.

Via Arstechnica You might also like Amazon's data center spend tops $100bn - more than the GDP of most countries Check out our pick of the best secure routers on offer We've rounded up the best portable monitors available now



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/pro/chaos-at-deepseek-as-r2-launch-crashes-into-hard ware-problems-rivals-gain-huge-advantage


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