DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence lab, has surged to the top of the Google Play Store rankings with its Android app, just days after its chatbot app claimed the No. 1 spot on the Apple App Store.
According to analytics firm AppFigures, the DeepSeek app has amassed over 1.2 million downloads on the Play Store and 1.9 million on the App Store since its mid-January launch. However, the actual installation figures may be significantly higher, as the Play Store lists the app with over 5 million downloads.
The meteoric rise of DeepSeek follows its release of a series of open-source AI models that rival offerings from leading Western tech companies such as OpenAI, Meta, Google, and Anthropic. Despite this competition, DeepSeek claims it developed its AI at a fraction of the cost of its U.S. counterparts, relying on less advanced computing hardware.
Functioning as an alternative to ChatGPT, DeepSeek’s app runs on its proprietary V3 model. The chatbot can analyze files, answer user queries, and retrieve information from the web. The app is free to use and allows file uploads and cross-device chat history synchronization.
While DeepSeek currently dominates app store charts, it faces an uphill battle to surpass OpenAI’s ChatGPT in long-term popularity. ChatGPT boasts approximately 300 million weekly users, a milestone DeepSeek has yet to approach.
Nonetheless, the Chinese AI company has gained significant industry attention, with startups like Perplexity and Gloo—led by former Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger—already integrating DeepSeek’s technology into their platforms.
