DeepSeek Doubles AI Model API Prices During Peak Hours
Quick Look
Chinese AI firm DeepSeek will double the price for access to its V4 AI models via API during peak hours (9am-12pm, 2pm-6pm Beijing time) to 12 yuan per million output tokens, citing resource distribution and service stability needs.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company, has announced a price increase for its V4 AI model API during peak hours.
The Chinese AI champion will double the price for access to its V4 AI models through its application programming interface (API) during peak hours – 9am to noon and 2pm to 6pm Beijing time – according to an email sent to service subscribers on Monday and seen by the South China Morning Post.
Hangzhou-based DeepSeek attributed the price increase to the need for “better distribution of resources and [to] enhance service stability”, according to the email.
Under the new pricing, peak hour costs for its V4 Pro will be increased to 12 yuan (US$1.77) for every million output tokens from the standard rate of 6 yuan during non-peak time. The new price applies to all V4 models, the company said in a separate notice published to its website.
AI companies sell access to their models via APIs and typically charge fees based on token usage, usually per million tokens.
Open Questions
- How will the price increase affect DeepSeek's user base?
- Will competitors adjust their pricing in response?
