A new report from Microsoft is shedding light on a trend that most Western tech observers might have missed: DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup that’s been making waves since 2023, is quietly dominating AI adoption across the developing world.
The numbers tell an interesting story. While global usage of generative AI tools climbed to 16.3% of the world’s population by the end of last year—up from 15.1% just three months earlier—there’s a growing divide. Advanced economies are adopting AI nearly twice as fast as developing nations. But here’s where it gets compelling: DeepSeek appears to be bridging that gap in ways nobody anticipated.
“We are seeing a divide and we are concerned that that divide will continue to widen,” Juan Lavista Ferres, chief data scientist for Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, told reporters. His team tracked this using anonymized device data, painting a picture of how AI tools are actually being used around the globe.
Countries that invested early in digital infrastructure—think UAE, Singapore, France, and Spain—lead the pack in adoption rates. South Korea stands out too, showing up in both Microsoft’s findings and a separate Pew Research study as particularly enthusiastic about AI. But the real story is happening in places where Western platforms struggle to gain a foothold.
How DeepSeek Gained Ground Where Others Couldn’t
The secret sauce? DeepSeek is free and open-source, meaning anyone can access and modify its core technology. That’s a game-changer in price-sensitive markets where monthly subscription fees can be a dealbreaker.
When DeepSeek dropped its R1 reasoning model in January 2025, claiming it matched OpenAI’s capabilities at a fraction of the cost, it turned heads across Silicon Valley. Nature journal even published peer-reviewed research from DeepSeek’s founder last September, calling it a “landmark paper.” Whether you trust those claims or not, the model has clearly resonated with users in developing regions.
Microsoft’s report notes that this combination of affordability and openness has “lowered the barrier for millions of users, especially in price-sensitive regions.” In many African countries like Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Uganda, DeepSeek commands between 11% and 14% market share. That’s substantial for a platform that barely registers in North America or Europe.
The numbers get more dramatic in certain markets. DeepSeek holds an estimated 89% market share in China, 56% in Belarus, and 49% in Cuba. In Russia, Iran, and Syria—countries where U.S. tech services face restrictions—DeepSeek’s presence ranges from 23% to 43%. Part of this dominance comes from DeepSeek being pre-installed as the default chatbot on phones from Chinese manufacturers like Huawei.
What Does This Mean for Global AI Development?
There’s an obvious geopolitical angle here that Microsoft doesn’t dance around. “Open-source AI can function as a geopolitical instrument, extending Chinese influence in areas where Western platforms cannot easily operate,” the report states plainly.
Lavista Ferres points out that DeepSeek performs well on technical tasks like math and coding, but it operates under the same internet restrictions that China imposes domestically. Political questions get answered “very differently” than they would on Western platforms. “In many ways that can have an influence on the world,” he said.
Several developed countries, including Australia, Germany, and the U.S., have moved to restrict DeepSeek usage over security concerns. Microsoft itself banned employees from using the platform last year. Yet adoption continues to surge in markets where Western alternatives are either unavailable, unaffordable, or both.
Whether DeepSeek represents democratized AI access or something more complicated probably depends on where you’re sitting. But one thing seems clear: the global AI landscape is being shaped as much by economics and access as it is by technological superiority.
