Microsoft, Meta CEOs defend hefty AI spending after DeepSeek stuns tech world

The icons for the smartphone apps DeepSeek and ChatGPT are seen on a smartphone screen in Beijing, Jan. 28, 2025.

Days after Chinese upstart DeepSeek revealed a breakthrough in cheap AI computing that shook the U.S. technology industry, the chief executives of Microsoft and Meta defended massive spending that they said was key to staying competitive in the new field.