# DeepSeek developing in-house AI inference chips to reduce Nvidia dependence

> DeepSeek, the Chinese lab that rattled the industry with startlingly cheap models, is now going after the hardware underneath them. Reports say the company has spent roughly a year exploring its own AI accelerators, is actively recruiting chip designers, and has started contacting foundries and memory suppliers. The effort is still early, but the direction is clear. The target is inference rather than training. Inference is the everyday work of a deployed model generating answers for users, and it is also where the compute bills and the revenue both pile up. Owning that silicon would let DeepSeek shave costs and, just as importantly, reduce its exposure to Nvidia and Huawei at a moment when US export restrictions make foreign chips an unreliable supply line. DeepSeek is not alone here. OpenAI has its own custom chip in the works, and Anthropic is in talks with Samsung, so the playbook of a model lab building bespoke inference hardware is quickly becoming standard. What makes DeepSeek's move notable is the constraint it operates under: for a Chinese company, custom silicon is less a cost optimization than a hedge against being cut off entirely.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: SiliconANGLE · Published Saturday, July 18, 2026_

## Wortins' read

DeepSeek, the Chinese lab that rattled the industry with startlingly cheap models, is now going after the hardware underneath them. Reports say the company has spent roughly a year exploring its own AI accelerators, is actively recruiting chip designers, and has started contacting foundries and memory suppliers. The effort is still early, but the direction is clear. The target is inference rather than training. Inference is the everyday work of a deployed model generating answers for users, and it is also where the compute bills and the revenue both pile up. Owning that silicon would let DeepSeek shave costs and, just as importantly, reduce its exposure to Nvidia and Huawei at a moment when US export restrictions make foreign chips an unreliable supply line. DeepSeek is not alone here. OpenAI has its own custom chip in the works, and Anthropic is in talks with Samsung, so the playbook of a model lab building bespoke inference hardware is quickly becoming standard. What makes DeepSeek's move notable is the constraint it operates under: for a Chinese company, custom silicon is less a cost optimization than a hedge against being cut off entirely.

## Source

[Read the full story at SiliconANGLE](https://siliconangle.com/2026/07/07/report-chinas-deepseek-follows-openai-developing-custom-inference-chips/)

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