India leads the world in DeepSeek AI app downloads, setting records

The Indian government looks to host Chinese AI model on domestic servers to enhance data security and ensure compliance with Indian regulations

Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot DeepSeek has emerged as the most downloaded mobile app across 140 markets, with India contributing the largest share of new users. According to data from Appfigures, as cited by Bloomberg, India accounted for 15.6 per cent of all downloads across platforms since the app’s launch in January and became the number one android app on the Google Play Store in the US this week.

 

The app climbed to the No 1 spot on Apple Inc’s App Store on January 26 and has maintained its position globally and became the top-ranking app on Alphabet Inc’s Google Play Store in the US as of January 28.

 

Within 18 days of its release, DeepSeek garnered 16 million downloads—nearly doubling the nine million downloads achieved by OpenAI’s ChatGPT in its initial launch period. The chatbot has gained traction for its impressive AI capabilities at a significantly lower cost than its competitors, raising concerns among global tech companies about potential disruptions in the AI market.

 

Security concerns around Chinese AI

Despite its rapid success, DeepSeek faces scrutiny from governments and corporations over cybersecurity risks, Bloomberg reported earlier this week. Citing cybersecurity firms, the report claimed that hundreds of companies and government agencies have blocked the AI assistant over concerns about data privacy and potential security vulnerabilities. 

DeepSeek's AI restricted by 'hundreds' of companies amid concerns over leak

 

 

OpenAI seeks fresh $40 billion funding

Meanwhile, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, is reportedly seeking up to $40 billion in fresh funding, with Japan’s SoftBank leading discussions to invest between $15 billion and $25 billion. If the deal materialises, SoftBank could become OpenAI’s largest financial backer, pushing its total valuation to an estimated $340 billion. A report by The Financial Times suggested that SoftBank’s total investment in OpenAI could eventually surpass $40 billion. 

OpenAI seeks $40 billion in fresh funding as DeepSeek disrupts AI market          

 

India’s solution: Host DeepSeek on local servers

Amid rising concerns about data privacy, India’s Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Thursday that DeepSeek will soon be hosted on Indian servers. Speaking at the IndiaAI Mission event, Vaishnaw emphasised that this move aims to enhance data security and ensure compliance with Indian regulations. 

The minister also revealed that major semiconductor firms are exploring collaborations with India to develop indigenous graphics processing units (GPUs). The government, through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is actively working on partnerships to co-develop AI infrastructure and accelerate the country’s chip design ecosystem. Further announcements on these initiatives are expected in the coming weeks. 

 

India is looking to join the AI race and emerge as a key global player in AI adoption.