The Export Controls Worked in One Market and Handed DeepSeek the Other

DeepSeek is developing a proprietary inference chip, marking the final step in a three-year sequence that has split the global AI market into two segments with different rules and suppliers, according to a Reuters report. The move highlights how export controls have shaped distinct AI ecosystems, with no current mechanism for recombination under existing policy.

On July 7, Reuters reported that DeepSeek is developing a proprietary inference chip. That item reads like a technology story. It's not. It's the last move in a three-year sequence that splits the global AI market into two segments with different rules, different suppliers, and no mechanism for recombination under current policy.