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.

A new and largely unknown Chinese AI system called DeepSeek has rocked the tech industry and global markets.Tech shares plunged and chip maker Nvidia suffered falls of nearly 17 per cent on Monday, as President Donald Trump warned DeepSeek’s emergence was a “wake up call” for existing AI giants.