Primary Markets of DeepSeek’s Global Expansion

Introduction

DeepSeek’s rapid ascent in the global AI market has been fueled by strategic penetration into key regions, leveraging cost efficiency, open-source accessibility, and localized adaptations.

While its market share remains concentrated compared to ChatGPT’s global dispersion, the Chinese startup has carved significant niches across emerging and developed economies.

Southeast Asia: Indonesia as a Strategic Foothold

Southeast Asia represents a critical growth corridor for DeepSeek, with Indonesia emerging as a focal point.

The Indonesian government announced plans to develop a national AI chatbot modeled explicitly on DeepSeek’s architecture, citing its cost-efficiency and open-source flexibility as advantages for domestic digitalization efforts.

This initiative aligns with Indonesia’s ambition to harness AI for public-sector efficiency, with early versions of the model set to integrate Indonesian and English language support.

DeepSeek’s traction in the region is further amplified by partnerships with local telecom and tech giants like Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison (IOH) and GoTo Gojek Tokopedia, which utilize its frameworks to develop open-source LLMs tailored to regional dialects.

With Google estimating AI could contribute $167 billion to Indonesia’s economy by 2030, DeepSeek’s early-mover positioning in this market underscores its adaptability to cost-sensitive, high-growth environments.

India: Cost-Efficiency Drives Adoption

In India, DeepSeek has captured 13.59% of its global monthly active users (MAU), making it the second-largest market after China.

Indian tech leaders have highlighted DeepSeek’s frugal innovation—training its R1 model for $6 million versus OpenAI’s $540 million—as a blueprint for overcoming resource constraints.

Despite India’s lack of a protected AI market, DeepSeek’s open-source model and low API costs (up to 95% cheaper than ChatGPT) have attracted startups and SMEs seeking affordable AI integration.

However, systemic challenges, including talent migration and underinvestment in R&D, limit India’s ability to replicate DeepSeek’s success domestically, reinforcing reliance on foreign models.

China: Domestic Dominance and State-Backed Adoption

As DeepSeek’s home market, China accounts for 30.71% of its MAU, with rapid adoption across public and private sectors.

State-linked entities and corporations have integrated DeepSeek into workflows, partly due to its compliance with Chinese censorship norms, which restrict discussions on sensitive topics like Taiwan or Tiananmen Square.

The government’s treatment of AI as a “national security priority” ensures sustained funding for DeepSeek despite early performance gaps, fostering a Darwinian ecosystem where domestic models thrive.

Within a week of its R1 model launch, DeepSeek surpassed 100 million users in China, outpacing ChatGPT’s two-month milestone.

North America: Disrupting Tech Incumbents

Despite U.S. export restrictions on advanced GPUs, DeepSeek has garnered 2.1 million weekly website visitors from the U.S., signaling growing interest among developers and enterprises.

Its MoE (Mixture of Experts) architecture, which reduces computational costs by 20–30%, appeals to North American startups seeking alternatives to expensive, closed-source models like ChatGPT.

However, geopolitical tensions and concerns over data security have led to partial bans, with U.S. federal agencies blocking DeepSeek’s use over fears of Chinese data laws.

Nevertheless, its open-source framework has gained traction in academic and developer circles, particularly for edge computing applications.

Emerging Markets: Africa and Latin America

While explicit data on these regions is limited, DeepSeek’s #1 app download rank in 156 countries suggests penetration into underserved markets where cost and multilingual support are pivotal.

In Africa, partnerships with telecom providers exploring AI-driven customer service tools align with DeepSeek’s low-resource training capabilities.

Similarly, Latin American fintechs have experimented with its APIs for fraud detection, drawn by lower latency and operational costs compared to Western models.

Comparative Analysis with ChatGPT

ChatGPT’s 74.2% global market share (including Microsoft Copilot) reflects entrenched dominance in Western enterprises and academia.

However, DeepSeek’s agility in emerging markets—where ChatGPT’s pricing and compute requirements are prohibitive—highlights a bifurcated AI landscape.

While ChatGPT excels in ecosystem integration (e.g., Azure, GitHub), DeepSeek’s open-source model and regional customization position it as the preferred choice for nations prioritizing digital sovereignty and affordability.

Conclusion

DeepSeek’s market traction hinges on its ability to balance cost innovation with geopolitical realities, carving niches where ChatGPT’s scale becomes a liability rather than an asset.