DeepSeek founder Lian Wenfeng is being hailed as a hero within the southern Chinese language province of Guangdong, the place he grew up and reportedly returned for the Lunar New 12 months, joined by bodyguards.
Wenfeng—who, at 40, is already a billionaire attributable to his hedge fund, Excessive-Flyer—is outwardly much more beloved by locals following DeepSeek’s breakthrough analysis, which demonstrated that sturdy AI fashions may very well be constructed with fewer and less-powerful Nvidia chips. The discovering has important implications, significantly in China, the place entry to the highest-end chips has been restricted.
Residents of his native neighborhood inform the Monetary Instances that Wenfeng was a “prime pupil” who cherished comedian books, was a math whiz, and got here from a household of educators. In line with one native, Wenfeng additionally performed some soccer. “All of us grew up on this village,” the resident tells the FT. “We’re very pleased with him.”
Regardless of his rising star, Wenfeng has largely prevented public consideration, irritating these desirous to be taught extra about him. Given the destiny of high-flying Chinese language CEOs like Jack Ma and Pony Ma — who confronted authorities scrutiny after gaining a bit of an excessive amount of visibility — don’t be shocked if Wenfeng chooses to remain within the background.
