DeepSeek Slashes Prices for New V4-Pro AI Model Amid U.S. Distillation Concerns

On April 27, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek launched its V4-Pro model with a 75 % discount for developers, valid through May 5. The promotion also reduces API “input cache hit” charges to one-tenth of previous rates. V4-Pro is the higher-priced tier of the V4 family, complemented by a lower-cost V4-Flash variant.

Reuters

The cut follows a wave of price reductions by domestic rivals such as Alibaba and Baidu and coincides with heightened U.S. scrutiny of Chinese AI firms. U.S. State Department officials have instructed diplomats to raise concerns about alleged “distillation” – using outputs from larger foreign models to train smaller Chinese systems. Export limits on Nvidia chips have pushed Chinese developers toward Huawei’s Ascend AI processors, which DeepSeek has integrated into the V4 series.

DeepSeek Cuts AI Model Prices by 75% as the U.S. Raises Concerns Over Alleged AI Model Use

DeepSeek’s offer cuts V4-Pro fees by 75 % and lowers API cache-hit charges to 10 % of prior rates. In benchmark tests, V4-Pro surpasses open-source models on world-knowledge tasks, trailing only Google’s Gemini-Pro-3.1. The models run on Huawei’s Ascend AI chips, providing an alternative to Nvidia GPUs for Chinese customers.

Reuters

DeepSeek said the discount responds to growing demand for affordable, high-performance inference and highlights the models’ suitability for AI-agent workloads. U.S. officials have publicly urged foreign governments to discuss concerns about Chinese “distillation” activities. The Chinese government has denied the allegations, asserting opposition to politicising technology and trade.

DeepSeek Cuts AI Model Prices by 75% as the U.S. Raises Concerns Over Alleged AI Model Use

U.S. policymakers argue that the price cut may conceal strategic attempts to leverage U.S. AI research via distillation. DeepSeek has been listed with Moonshot AI and MiniMax in reports alleging use of American model outputs.

DeepSeek Cuts AI Model Prices by 75% as the U.S. Raises Concerns Over Alleged AI Model Use

DeepSeek has not issued a comment on the distillation allegations, and the specifics of U.S. diplomatic instructions remain undisclosed. The effect of the discount on global AI procurement is still uncertain.

DeepSeek Cuts AI Model Prices by 75% as the U.S. Raises Concerns Over Alleged AI Model Use

• “officials have asked diplomats to discuss concerns with foreign governments regarding the possible use of “distillation” techniques by Chinese AI firms.” — U.S. officials

DeepSeek Cuts AI Model Prices by 75% as the U.S. Raises Concerns Over Alleged AI Model Use

• “China has previously denied similar claims and has said it opposes what it describes as efforts to politicise technology and trade issues.” — Chinese government

DeepSeek Cuts AI Model Prices by 75% as the U.S. Raises Concerns Over Alleged AI Model Use

• “The company is offering developers a 75% discount on its newly launched DeepSeek-V4-Pro model until May 5, while cutting prices for “input cache hits” across its API services to one-tenth of their previous rates.” — DeepSeek

DeepSeek Cuts AI Model Prices by 75% as the U.S. Raises Concerns Over Alleged AI Model Use

The discount ends on May 5; DeepSeek may revise pricing based on market response. Continued U.S. diplomatic pressure could prompt further regulatory scrutiny, while Chinese AI firms intensify price and performance competition.

DeepSeek Cuts AI Model Prices by 75% as the U.S. Raises Concerns Over Alleged AI Model Use