The success of DeepSeek’s new AI model points to how China might eventually achieve an even bigger technological breakthrough in the face of US export curbs: Producing its own cutting-edge chips.

Social media exploded in a celebration after the news that a Chinese start-up had made an artificial intelligence tool that was more efficient than any in the United States.

The sudden rise of Chinese AI app DeepSeek has leaders in Washington and Silicon Valley grappling with how to keep the U.S. ahead in the crucial technology.