DeepSeek's RI might be the first of many AI super-apps

Expect AI to follow the path taken earlier by smartphones as LLM-based apps for daily use proliferate

- SIDDHARTH PAI

For many, AI's promises of transformation have yet to materialize meaningfully. A machine-generated summary of a Google search or an AI-suggested comment on social media isn't a revolution. But that may soon change. The defining shift in AI during 2025 won't just be about bigger or better models, but about making them truly useful in everyday life.

When ChatGPT first appeared, much initial innovation comprised 'AI wrappers,' or apps plugged into large language models (LLMs) without adding much unique functionality. Then a countertrend emerged, with startups focusing on deeply integrating AI into applications, from coding assistants to content-creation tools. As I see it, the AI market will now undergo a transition like the one smartphones underwent, moving from basic add-ons to fully embedded AI-first applications. Remember, the smartphone wasn't defined by a single invention, but by an ecosystem of products that emerged around it.

DeepSeek's models could be the foundation for this next phase. Its release of RI was significant not just because it matched top-tier AI models in capability, but because it was developed at a fraction of the usual cost and released for free, much like apps like Uber and others became fundamental to the smartphone ecosystem rather than standalone services. In other words, these apps went beyond being 'wrappers'.