tszzl: Open source is a red herring — closed DeepSeek at 1/10 cost could zero out lab margins

tszzl · x · 2026-09-13

tszzl argues the question that matters for margins is how many providers can serve models nearly as good as Astra/Fable — open source is irrelevant. A model doesn't need open weights to drive lab margins to zero: DeepSeek could partner with Amazon Cloud to offer ZDR in the US while staying closed, at a tenth of Claude's cost. He calls open source a "hobby horse."

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