How Windows Defeated Linux in China, and How DeepSeek Could Use That Strategy To Win

Do not be confused that many US entities are reporting that DeepSeek is vulnerable and people could copy this and see this in its ecosystem: “Researchers from leading cloud security company Wiz have published its findings following the discovery of a publicly accessible database belonging to DeepSeek. The critical database allowed full control over operations, including access to internal data. This exposure included over a million lines of log streams containing highly sensitive information.“

Good People, it is all part of the strategy to win in the marketplace. In our first edition of Tekedia Mini-MBA, I intentionally made our courseware easy for people to use by posting the videos on YouTube (unlisted). As friends and buddies fed and got hooked, we revoked access, and amazingly, they paid up. I learnt that playbook from Microsoft and that is what China’s DeepSeek will be doing as it works to win the AI future.

Many decades ago, Microsoft was in a battle with Linux in China. Microsoft was seen as being expensive when Linux was largely free. Many people were adopting Linux as their preferred operating system. From my thesis, Microsoft decided to make whatever Windows it was shipping to China easy to “steal”, and people stole, making illegal copies at scale. Just like that, everyone had a “free” Windows.

The adoption was so high that Linux gave up. Then within weeks, Microsoft offered everyone a deal: with $1, you can get the real version of Windows. Many paid, and China became a Windows Nation. 

So, expect DeepSeek to use the same playbook as it competes from the flanks. By being an open source solution, it has taken the first step. Simply, it does not have to be great to win, it just needs to be good since it is largely free. And by making its database and everything stealable, it will make it easier for those starting at limited budgets to see “wins”. By the time we are done, we would be deep in seeking with DeepSeek.

I posit that an AI project in Africa can just begin with DeepSeek since you can even copy everything and start from there. Microsoft has already done that and will do the necessary patches to make the product available to its Azure customers. Then in that platform, you could see: DeepSeek model $2, OpenAI model $50, etc. If DeepSeek is decent enough (it is indeed), it will take over the Azure community, especially in the developing world!

Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA (June 9 – Sept 6, 2025), and join Prof Ndubuisi Ekekwe and our global faculty; click here.