TITLE: DeepSeek V4 Achieves Near-Frontier Performance at $5.2M Training Cost DATE: 2026-04-11 COMPANY: DeepSeek TOPIC: Model Releases SUMMARY: DeepSeek released V4, a one-trillion-parameter Mixture-of-Experts open-weights model achieving near-frontier performance for an estimated $5.2 million training cost. At $0.28 per million input tokens versus $2+ for Western flagships, it is reshaping cost assumptions for enterprise AI procurement. WHAT CHANGED: DeepSeek released V4, a 1-trillion-parameter Mixture-of-Experts model with open weights, trained for approximately $5.2 million. It achieves near-frontier benchmark performance and is priced at $0.28 per million input tokens. WHY IT MATTERS: Western frontier model pricing has been the primary barrier to enterprise AI adoption at scale. DeepSeek V4 removes that barrier and forces a repricing of the entire market. DAVID & GOLIATH ANALYSIS: This development reinforces our belief that the next generation of organisations will be built on intelligent systems, not larger teams. Request a cost comparison from your AI vendor or consultants. For workloads where data sovereignty is not an issue, DeepSeek V4 may deliver 85-90% of frontier capability at 10-15% of the cost. RELEVANT SYSTEMS: AI Growth Engine, Employee Amplification Systems SOURCE URL: https://davidandgoliath.ai/daily-ai-briefing/deepseek-v4-achieves-near-frontier-performance-at-5-2m-training-cost FEED URL: https://davidandgoliath.ai/daily-ai-briefing/feed --- Published by David & Goliath | https://davidandgoliath.ai Daily AI Briefing: one AI development per day, decoded for business operators. This is a structured companion file optimised for LLM retrieval and citation.