A Chinese artificial intelligence startup has achieved a significant breakthrough, releasing what it claims is the first open-source AI model capable of performing at a gold medal level in the prestigious International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO).
Mathematical Mastery and Public Release
The model, known as Math-V2 and developed by DeepSeek, matched the performance required for a gold medal at this year's IMO. This is a feat accomplished by only 8 per cent of human participants in the competition. Crucially, the AI demonstrated advanced reasoning abilities, moving beyond simply providing answers to showing its working process.
In a move that contrasts sharply with the approach of Western tech giants, DeepSeek has made the model publicly available on developer platforms Hugging Face and GitHub. This allows researchers, developers, and enthusiasts to run, study, and modify the sophisticated AI for free.
Clement Delangue, co-founder and chief executive of Hugging Face, framed the release as a landmark moment. "Imagine owning the brain of one of the best mathematicians in the world for free," he said. "No limitations, no nerfing, no company or government to take it back. That's democratisation of AI and knowledge at its best."
Surpassing Closed Competitors
While models from Google's DeepMind and ChatGPT creator OpenAI have also reportedly achieved gold-level IMO scores, neither company has made their technology open-source. DeepMind's model is currently locked behind a premium subscription package, and OpenAI has yet to release its version to the public.
DeepSeek's researchers highlighted a key advancement: the model's ability for "self-verification". This allows it to tackle complex mathematical problems that lack known, easily verifiable solutions, addressing a major bottleneck in current AI development where systems typically only improve on tasks with clear right-or-wrong answers.
Rapid Rise and Regulatory Scrutiny
DeepSeek launched earlier this year and quickly gained attention by claiming its large language model was built at a fraction of the cost of rivals like ChatGPT. Its consumer app became the most downloaded free app in the United States, a surge that former President Donald Trump described as a "wake-up call" for the American tech industry.
This rapid ascent has been met with caution in some quarters. Several US states have banned the app on government devices, citing data security concerns over AI technologies developed in China. Italian regulators have also imposed a nationwide ban, ordering DeepSeek's parent companies to prove the model's compliance with the European Union's strict GDPR data protection laws.
The release of a top-tier mathematical AI as open-source software marks a pivotal moment in the global AI race. It challenges the prevailing model of proprietary, closed development and raises profound questions about the future democratisation of advanced artificial intelligence, even as it intensifies geopolitical tensions over technology and data security.
