DeepSeek has upended the AI industry, with a lie (or two)
Advanced Computing, AI/ML, Chips, and Extended Reality
Good morning,
China’s DeepSeek AI model has shaken Silicon Valley over the past week. It now appears the company has misrepresented the cost and effort it required to build its r1 model, which they previously claimed was built for around $5-6M. The real cost appears closer to 300 times that. News coverage has, nevertheless, been dominated by stories about this (relatively) newly emerged company.
Quantum Mechanics for Dummies, Part 2
The Dual Personality of Light: Wave-Particle Duality
Two weeks ago, we introduced the strange and wonderful world of quantum mechanics. This week, we’re zooming in on one of its most intriguing features: wave-particle duality. In simple terms, this idea tells us that light—and even matter—can behave both like a wave and like a particle. But what does that really mean?
A Tale of Two Behaviors
Imagine you’re at the beach. The rolling waves you see are smooth, continuous, and spread out over the surface of the water. Now, think of a handful of pebbles—the kind that might splash around if thrown. The pebbles are small, discrete objects. In our everyday experience, waves and particles seem like very different things. Yet, in the quantum world, light and even electrons can exhibit properties of both!
How Do We Know?
One of the key experiments that revealed this dual nature is the famous double-slit experiment. Here’s a simplified rundown:
As a Wave: When a beam of light (or even a stream of electrons) passes through two narrow, parallel slits, it creates an interference pattern on a screen behind the slits. This pattern—featuring alternating bright and dark bands—resembles the ripples you’d see if you dropped two stones into a pond. Such behavior is characteristic of waves.
As a Particle: If you were to place detectors at the slits, you’d find that light (or electrons) seems to “choose” one slit or the other, much like individual particles. In this scenario, the interference pattern disappears, and you see two distinct clusters on the screen.
This experiment highlights the mysterious dual behavior. When we’re not watching, light appears to be spread out like a wave, interfering with itself. But when we measure which slit a particle goes through, it behaves like a particle, and the wave-like pattern vanishes.
Why Is This Important?
Understanding wave-particle duality isn’t just an academic exercise—it has real-world applications. For instance:
Modern Technology: Devices like lasers and semiconductors rely on principles derived from quantum mechanics, including wave-particle duality.
Quantum Computers: The dual nature of particles plays a role in how quantum bits (qubits) can exist in multiple states at once, potentially leading to computers that solve complex problems far more efficiently than today's machines.
The Bigger Picture
Wave-particle duality challenges our classical understanding of the world. It reminds us that at the smallest scales, nature behaves in ways that defy our everyday expectations. While it might seem counterintuitive, this duality is a cornerstone of quantum mechanics, opening up new avenues for technology and deepening our understanding of the universe.
Next week, we’ll continue our exploration of quantum mechanics by diving into the uncertainty principle and how when we attempt to measure quantum phenomena, we alter it.
Stay tuned, and keep questioning the ordinary—because sometimes, the smallest things can change the way we see the world.
Alright, let’s dig in to the news.
News Headlines:
Trump levies tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, spurring trade war as North American allies respond (AP)
Musk, Trump take aim at USAID (AP)
Punxatawny Phil predicts six more weeks of winter (BBC)
X sues Lego, Nestle, more for not advertising on the social media platform (NPR)
Gabbard’s DNI confirmation hearing leaves some Senators unconvinced (TH)
The Taliban are building a road to China (WP)
SecDef has a call with Mexican Secretaries of National Defense and Navy (DOD)
U.S. envoy calls China's presence around Panama Canal a security concern (RT)
More than 8,000 government webpages removed over the weekend (NYT)
Qatari PM calls for immediate Hamas-Israel on Phase 2 of Gaza ceasefire (RT)
Secretary of State Rubio brings back Cuba Restricted List, slaps sanctions on remittance provider (RT)
Pennies are worth less than they cost to make; DOGE says it’s finally time to stop minting them (AX)
Pentagon prepares to deploy 1,000 more troops to southern border (AP)
Quantum Tech:
Poland wants to build the first military quantum computer (TDP)
MITRE releases paper on IC role in quantum computing race (EG)
ESA and European Commission to build quantum-secure space communications network (ESA)
Quantum coverage shifts from science, discovery to strategies, competition: study (QI)
Quantum sensors could make stealthy submarines obsolete (PM)
AI / ML
OpenAI has evidence that its models helped train China's DeepSeek (TV)
Navy ops centers need AI to sift through troves of intel data (DO)
OpenAI hits back at DeepSeek with free-to-use o3-mini STEM-focused reasoning model (AT)
Wealthiest Indian plans to build world’s largest data center (BBG)
DeepSeek data leak exposes 1 million sensitive records (HN)
DeepSeek is having a profound impact on AI and national security (DO)
DeepSeek might not be as disruptive as claimed, firm reportedly has 50,000 Nvidia GPUs and spent $1.6 billion on buildouts (TH)
SoftBank and OpenAI set up joint company to push artificial intelligence services (AP)
Nanotech, Nanomaterials, Chips
China says Japan's plans for chip export controls could damage business relations (RT)
U.S. Department of Commerce investigating if DeepSeek obtained restricted Nvidia AI chips, including the H20, for its breakthrough model (TM)
Trump calls for tariffs on computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals from Taiwan (VB)
DeepSeek shows the limits of US export controls on AI chips (BI)
Lawmakers urge Trump to consider new curbs on Nvidia chips used by China's DeepSeek (RT)
New SLAP & FLOP attacks expose Apple M-series chips to speculative execution exploits (THN)
Deal Flow:
Funds
Sarah Guo's AI-focused VC Conviction Partners raised $230M for its second fund (TC)
VC
OpenAI is in talks to raise up to $25B from SoftBank (TC)
AI voice cloning startup ElevenLabs raised $180M in Series C funding led by ICONIQ Growth (SA)
Alice & Bob raise $104M in Series B funding co-led by Future French Champions, AXA Venture Partners, Bpifrance to accelerate its cat qubit quantum computers by 2030 (TC)
PE / M&A / Exits / Other
Spanish defense company Indra agreed to buy an 89.7% stake in satellite operator Hispasat from state-owned grid operator Redeia for $752M (RT)
Opportunities:
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking potential suppliers of thin-film lithium neobate (TFLN) for photonic chips (SAM)
DARPA is standing up an AI ‘red team’ and looking for vendors that can help (SAM)
Editor’s Picks:
Cybersecurity policy expert Jason Blessing warns against splitting the roles of CYBERCOM Commander and NSA Director.
The Verge has a deep dive on all the news around DeepSeek.
Stanford post-doc fellow Becca Lewis thinks the tech industry has long had a reactionary movement fomenting.
Investor Peter Barrett agrees with Building our Future that quantum computing is looking increasingly imminent.
Lighter Side:
Keep Building,
BOF