DeepSeek's Hedge Fund Owner: A Trail of Innovative Projects Before AI's Market Cap Erosion

The recent market cap erosion of AI stocks, totaling over $1 trillion, has been attributed to the emergence of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup that has rattled the industry with its cost-effective AI models. Behind DeepSeek's success lies its founder, Liang Wenfeng, and his hedge fund, High-Flyer, which had a history of innovative projects before shifting its focus to AI.

High-Flyer's journey began in 2016, when it started using deep learning algorithms and GPUs for quantitative trading. In 2020, the fund developed its first AI supercomputer, Yinghuo – 1, featuring 1,100 GPUs. This project laid the groundwork for High-Flyer's AI infrastructure and provided the computing power necessary for AI-led research.

In 2021, High-Flyer launched Yinghuo – 2, an AI supercomputer with around 10,000 Nvidia Corp.'s NVDA A100 GPUs, cutting-edge hardware, and 200 Gbps high-bandwidth connectivity. This project significantly expanded High-Flyer's AI computing capabilities, which later proved invaluable for DeepSeek's AI research.

These projects contributed to DeepSeek's success in several ways:

* Infrastructure and computing power: The extensive GPU clusters developed by High-Flyer provided DeepSeek with the necessary computing power to train and develop its AI models efficiently.
* Technical expertise: The experience gained by High-Flyer in developing and managing these AI supercomputers helped DeepSeek build a strong technical foundation for its AI research.
* Financial resources: As a successful hedge fund, High-Flyer had the financial resources to support DeepSeek's AI research and development efforts.

These factors combined to enable DeepSeek to develop its innovative AI models, such as the DeepSeek V2, which sparked a price war in the AI industry and put the company on the map.

In conclusion, DeepSeek's hedge fund owner, High-Flyer, had a trail of innovative projects before creating the firm that fueled the $1 trillion market cap erosion of AI stocks. The fund's investment in AI infrastructure, such as Nvidia chips, significantly impacted DeepSeek's ability to develop and deploy its AI models. The combination of computing power, technical expertise, and financial resources provided by High-Flyer was instrumental in DeepSeek's success in the AI industry.