DeepSeek is just one of an array of companies developing AI models and applications. Here’s a guide to a number of the biggest players in China.

DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based startup founded in 2023, shot to the top of Apple’s App Store free app chart after releasing a new open-source AI model it says rivals OpenAI's work. Its website was hit by outages amid a spike in interest.

A new and largely unknown Chinese AI system called DeepSeek has rocked the tech industry and global markets.Tech shares plunged and chip maker Nvidia suffered falls of nearly 17 per cent on Monday, as President Donald Trump warned DeepSeek’s emergence was a “wake up call” for existing AI giants.