India, Feb. 5 -- Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek's rapid rise has been credited to CEO Liang Wenfeng's unconventional leadership and focus on Gen Z talent, departing from Silicon Valley norms, according to a Fortune report.

Liang founded the company in 2023, prioritising creativity over experience. DeepSeek has since climbed to the top of Apple's App Store charts, surpassing even AI giant OpenAI's ChatGPT in the US.

Less than two years from its founding, the company is now estimated to be worth $1 billion.

The 40-year-old Liang loves to hire young people and bookworms, often humanities graduates. He has been open about hiring literary buffs onto the engineering teams to help refine the company's AI models.

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