India, Feb. 2 -- A Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm named DeepSeek took the wind out of the sails of the world's tech giants in the first month of 2025. Within days of a crucial January announcement by the firm, chip maker NVIDIA posted the biggest ever loss for an American company by shedding USD 600 billion in market capital in one day. The firm has also generated buzz that it might soon be responsible for China replacing the US as the hub of AI while triggering a price war that might have real-world implications. But what is DeepSeek, and why is everyone in Silicon Valley both fascinated and alarmed by it?

While the rest of the world was busy ushering in the new year in the last week of December 2024, China continued its forw...