Donald Trump has labeled China's new AI model, DeepSeek, a "wake-up call" for the US tech sector following Nvidia's staggering $600 billion market value loss.

DeepSeek's debut triggered a sharp decline in AI-focused company stocks. Nvidia, a GPU market leader crucial for AI model operation, suffered the most, experiencing a 16.86% share plunge – a Wall Street record. Microsoft, Meta Platforms, Alphabet (Google's parent company), and Dell Technologies also saw significant drops, ranging from 2.1% to 8.7%.

Although this claim faces some skepticism, DeepSeek has cast doubt on the massive AI investments of American tech giants, unsettling investors. Its popularity surged, topping US download charts for free apps amidst growing discussions about its efficacy.

"DeepSeek performs comparably to leading Silicon Valley models, and in some cases, even better, according to their claims," Sheldon Fernandez, DarwinAI co-founder, told CBC News. "The remarkable aspect is achieving this with a fraction of the resources."

Fernandez highlighted the potential disruption to business models: "Instead of monthly fees of $20 or $200 for advanced models, users can access similar features for free, fundamentally altering the business model underpinning many companies' high valuations."

President Trump offered a more optimistic perspective, suggesting DeepSeek could benefit the US. He stated (as reported by the BBC), "Instead of billions in spending, less will be needed, hopefully achieving the same results. If it's cheaper and yields the same outcome, that's positive for us." He maintained US AI dominance.

Despite DeepSeek's impact, Nvidia remains a $2.90 trillion company. The highly anticipated RTX 5090 and RTX 5080 GPUs are slated for release this week, generating such demand that consumers are braving winter weather to camp outside stores.