How to buy DeepSeek shares

DeepSeek is not a publicly-traded company, but you can buy shares in similar AI-related stocks, or swoop on stocks impacted by "the DeepSeek effect".

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On 27 January, the humongous valuations of US tech companies involved with artificial intelligence (AI) were suddenly called into question, when it was reported that a previously-little-known AI app from China had become the most-downloaded free app on the US App Store. That meant booting ChatGPT off the top spot, despite a smaller budget and restricted access to the most advanced chips from the likes of Nvidia.

Cue widespread interest in buying DeepSeek shares. But, it’s not yet a publicly-traded company, and is still privately-owned. So you can’t invest in DeepSeek just yet. However, the surge in popularity with the release of its supposedly cheap DeepSeek V3 large language model (LLM) has created investing opportunities nonetheless. We’ll pin those down in this guide.

Tech companies whose share prices fell in the sell-off

Stock 5-year performance (to Feb. '25) Link
NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) NVIDIA Corporation icon 1,851.44% Invest Capital at risk
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT) Microsoft Corporation icon 140.92% Invest Capital at risk
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing icon 300.87% Invest Capital at risk
Oracle Corporation (ORCL) Oracle Corporation icon 239.32% Invest Capital at risk
Amazon.com (AMZN) Amazon.com icon 131.92% Invest Capital at risk
Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) Alphabet Class A icon 183.32% Invest Capital at risk
Broadcom (AVGO) Broadcom icon 717.95% Invest Capital at risk
Vertiv Holdings Co (VRT) Vertiv Holdings Co icon 825.32% Invest Capital at risk
Arm Holdings plc (ARM) Arm Holdings plc icon N/A Invest Capital at risk
ASML Holding NV ADR (ASML) ASML Holding NV ADR icon 158.46% Invest Capital at risk
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Advanced Micro Devices icon 134.48% Invest Capital at risk
Tesla (TSLA) Tesla icon 584.17% Invest Capital at risk
Marvell Technology (MRVL) Marvell Technology icon 366.79% Invest Capital at risk

AI disruptor stocks like DeepSeek

Stock 5-year performance (to Feb. '25) Link
Applovin Corp (APP) Applovin Corp icon 502.82% (3 years – 2021 IPO) Invest Capital at risk
Grid Dynamics Holdings (GDYN) Grid Dynamics Holdings icon 101.16% Invest Capital at risk
C3 Ai (AI) C3 Ai icon 31.34% (3 years – 2020 IPO) Invest Capital at risk
Pegasystems (PEGA) Pegasystems icon 19.44% Invest Capital at risk
BigBearai Holdings (BBAI) BigBearai Holdings icon -17.99% (3 years – 2021 IPO) Invest Capital at risk
Palantir Technologies Class A (PLTR) Palantir Technologies Class A icon 562.57% (3 years – 2020 IPO) Invest Capital at risk
Symbotic (SYM) Symbotic icon 197.67% (3 years – 2021 IPO) Invest Capital at risk
Upstart Holdings Inc (UPST) Upstart Holdings Inc icon -38.80% (3 years – 2020 IPO) Invest Capital at risk
Uipath (PATH) Uipath icon -57.37% (3 years – 2021 IPO) Invest Capital at risk
SoundHound AI (SOUN) SoundHound AI icon 401.77% (2 years – 2022 IPO) Invest Capital at risk
Rezolve AI Limited (RZLV) Rezolve AI Limited icon -74.55% (3 years) Invest Capital at risk

How to invest

  1. Open a share dealing platform. If you don’t have one already, the first step in investing in one of these stocks is to open a share trading account. Choose a platform that suits your needs, whether it’s one with robust research tools, low fees, or a user-friendly interface.
  2. Fund your account. Once your account is set up, deposit funds. You can do that via a bank transfer, debit card, or any other means allowed by your platform.
  3. Research and choose your “DeepSeek effect” stocks. Research the best stocks (or funds) for your portfolio, and then search for them on your chosen platform by company name or ticker symbol.
  4. Buy shares. Once you’ve found the stock(s), select the amount you want to invest and create an order to buy shares. And just like that, you’re now officially an investor in the AI sector.
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What is DeepSeek?

DeepSeek is a Chinese AI firm that uses open source technology to create its LLM (ChatGPT is an example of another popular LLM). Open source just means that the coding and programming can be viewed by anyone, inlcuding developers and researchers – which helps to add a level of transparency.

The reason DeepSeek has been hitting the headlines and growing in popularity is because its latest LLM DeepSeek V3 has deemed to be comparable to ChatGPT in terms of performance. But, what’s so interesting is that it has supposedley been created at a fraction of the cost, being trained for roughly $6 million (whereas ChatGPT cost upwards of $100 million).

George Sweeney, DipFA's headshot
Our expert says: Is DeepSeek better than ChatGPT?

"DeepSeek’s V3 LLM isn’t necessarily better than OpenAI’s ChatGPT, however reports suggest that it is pretty comparable in terms of performance and speed.

However, what’s interesting about this and the reason everyone has got their knickers ina twist is due to the lower costs involved. Although, it’s worth keeping in mind, these extremely low cost figures haven’t yet been independently verified.

We’re likely to see OpenAI fight back with a vengeance and it’s going to have to if it wants to justify its high costs if equivalent technology can be created in China for just a slither of the cost."

Deputy editor

Bottom line

At the moment, you can’t buy shares in DeepSeek or OpenAI. However, the AI tech that’s being released is still likely to have an impact on the stock market and firms linked with any part of the AI ecosystem and supply chain could see periods of volatility as these firms battle it out.

It’s early days for DeepSeek and it’s hard to gauge how successful the firm will be, but it goes to show that the stock market is very sensitive at the moment and it could be a sign that we may get some dips and possible buying opportunities over the coming months and years.

All investing should be regarded as longer term. The value of your investments can go up and down, and you may get back less than you invest. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. If you’re not sure which investments are right for you, please seek out a financial adviser. Capital at risk.


George Sweeney, DipFA's headshot
Deputy editor

George is a deputy editor at Finder. He has previously written for The Motley Fool UK, Nasdaq, Freetrade, Investing in the Web, MoneyMagpie, Online Mortgage Advisor, Wealth, and Compare Forex Brokers. He's focused on making personal finance and investing engaging for everyone. To do this he draws from previous work and his Level 4 Diploma for Financial Advisers (DipFA), sharing what he’s learnt. When he’s not geeking out about money, you’ll find him playing sports and staying active. See full bio

George's expertise
George has written 197 Finder guides across topics including:
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