Deepseek's new R2 model is on hold as US export controls disrupt its development. According to The Information, Nvidia chips - especially the recently banned H20 - have become scarce in China due to stricter US regulations. Insiders say CEO Liang Wenfeng is unhappy with R2's performance, and there's still no release date. The models are heavily tuned for Nvidia hardware, and cloud providers report that Chinese alternatives can't match Nvidia's power. Despite the setback, Deepseek is still in the game: a late-May update to its R1 model brought its performance back in line with top models from OpenAI and Google.

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Matthias is the co-founder and publisher of THE DECODER, exploring how AI is fundamentally changing the relationship between humans and computers.
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