My position on the long history of how Microsoft won Linux in China is clear: the best pricing is FREE from the customer side. So when Microsoft Azure integrated DeepSeek’s model, I noted that Microsoft was essentially telling developers and users that DeepSeek is technically anointed, and available to them right in the heart of America, with no need to digitally travel to Beijing.
With that move, Amazon quickly responded and integrated DeepSeek. If Microsoft and Amazon adopt a model, that model is available to more than 80% of digital developers and builders, meaning that a shift will happen. Ironically, Microsoft was funding OpenAI which is only open by name, and requires payment. What that means is that Microsoft can make itself irrelevant, if it is distributing a largely free model when funding a paid model, since if the two models perform at parity, no one will purchase the OpenAI model.
But the company which operates on practical realism has done what many have expected: “Microsoft has thrown a major disruptive force into the AI market, announcing free, unlimited access to OpenAI’s powerful o1 model through Copilot’s new “Think Deeper” feature. The move undercuts OpenAI’s own pricing model,…”
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Yes, if Microsoft does not do that, it may end up like IBM which made tents with Linux, and lost into oblivion. So, we can say indirectly that OpenAI is now becoming open via Microsoft. Good People, expect more shifts as Google joins the open model or free framework soon. But when you look deep into the horizon, it does seem like the OpenAI business model has faded since Microsoft can give out the goodies largely free under their contracts!
Remember: what they do at the foundation model should not overly concern you that much. We need to focus at the LLM and GenAI levels in Nigeria and Africa as I have noted here. As the foundation model becomes increasingly open, no one can give an excuse anymore on the reason why AI cannot transform, not just run sectors and businesses in Africa.
Amazon has made DeepSeek’s R1 artificial intelligence model available on its cloud computing platforms, the latest indication Big Tech has decided to integrate the Chinese startup’s cheaper, competitive AI technology. For its part, Meta contends DeepSeek “validated” its decision to make its AI technology freely available online, arguing an open-source standard will accelerate the adoption of its models and lower costs. The company is already working to reverse engineer DeepSeek’s technology, The Information reported, citing anonymous sources – Linkedin News
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