Eight automakers including BYD, at least nine financial securities companies, three state-owned telecommunications operators and smartphone brand Honor are among the many that have rushed to integrate with DeepSeek in the last week.

Chinese internet search giant Baidu will make its advanced AI chatbot services free, as competition heats up among global developers following the surging popularity of startup DeepSeek’s models.

Baidu stock gained after the China tech giant said it will offer it AI chatbot for free starting in April. A representative for JCPenney said a ‘handful’ of stores are expected to close by the middle of the year Tesla stock continues to sell off as concerns mount on Elon Musk's many distractions.