In the peaceful village of Mililing in southern Guangdong, Liang Wenfeng has become a symbol of national pride. From humble beginnings as a talented student, Liang is now the mastermind and chief architect of DeepSeek, one of China's top artificial intelligence (AI) firms that has shocked the international technology world with its innovation and strategic influence.

From Rural Roots To National Icon

Born in 1985 to a schoolteacher, Liang worked his way through China's demanding education system, becoming a math and physics whiz. In 2002, he was the top scorer on the university entrance exam in his region, gaining admission to the elite Zhejiang University. There, he majored in electronics engineering and later earned a postgraduate degree in machine vision, setting him up for a career in high-end computing. His path is compared most often with China's earliest science pioneers, and today schoolchildren from around the nation read about Liang's discipline and perseverance via motivational essays and posters on classroom walls.

Liang started exploring AI in 2019 with a small research facility. This lab, by 2023, transformed into DeepSeek, which later on launched its open-source V3 base model and then game-changing R1 reasoning model in January 2024. These advancements invited comparisons with the US-based OpenAI and even challenged American competitors to rethink their development plans. DeepSeek’s models, widely adopted by Chinese tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent, are not only technically advanced but also cost-effective. The company’s emphasis on open-source architecture, unlike OpenAI’s closed model, has bolstered its reputation as a national tech asset.deepseek

DeepSeek’s application. | Credits: Reuters

 Despite his fame, Liang avoids the spotlight. He does not appear on social media, rarely gives interviews, and even declined speaking engagements at global summits like the AI Action Summit in Paris. His quiet demeanor contrasts with OpenAI’s Sam Altman, yet his influence in the tech sector continues to grow.

Liang's previous success with quant trading company High-Flyer Quant, which oversaw more than 100 billion yuan in assets, gave him the computational infrastructure upon which DeepSeek took off. As regulatory pressure mounted, Liang turned his attention completely to AI—a field he thinks holds the key to reaching Artificial General Intelligence (AGI).

DeepSeek's Next Chapter: AGI And Global Leadership

DeepSeek's development echoes China's overall vision to dominate AI technology. LLMs are possibly the most straightforward route to AGI, according to Liang. With breakthroughs such as "mixture-of-experts" architecture, DeepSeek is not just reducing training expenses but establishing international norms for AI capability. As geopolitical rivalries intensify for tech dominance, Liang Wenfeng's tale remains a source of inspiration for millions. From the rural school chair to Hangzhou AI labs, his life is a testament to the fact that with foresight, grit, and a national mission, one can drive the world forward in innovation.