DeepSeek founder Lian Wenfeng is being hailed as a hero within the southern Chinese province of Guangdong, the place he grew up and reportedly returned for the Lunar New Year, joined by bodyguards.
Wenfeng—who, at 40, is already a billionaire as a consequence of his hedge fund, High-Flyer—has gained even higher admiration from locals following DeepSeek’s breakthrough analysis, which demonstrated that highly effective AI fashions may very well be constructed with fewer Nvidia chips. The discovering has vital implications, significantly in China, the place entry to the highest-end chips has been restricted.
Residents inform the Financial Times that Wenfeng was a “high scholar” who cherished comedian books, was a math whiz, and got here from a household of educators. According to 1 native, he additionally performed some soccer. “We all grew up on this village,” the resident tells the FT. “We’re very pleased with him.”
Despite his rising star, Wenfeng has largely averted public consideration, irritating these desirous to study extra about him. Given the destiny of high-flying Chinese CEOs like Jack Ma and Pony Ma — who confronted authorities scrutiny after gaining an excessive amount of visibility — don’t be shocked if Wenfeng chooses to remain within the background.
