Jean-Pascal Tricoire says DeepSeek’s success is important because business needs the innovation that’s enabled by smaller AI models.
Schneider Electric’s heavy investment in AI solutions has paid off as demand for AI infrastructure has skyrocketed.
The disruptive way DeepSeek has shaken up the AI landscape will have long-term benefits for industry, according to Jean-Pascal Tricoire, CEO of Schneider Electric – the energy management and automation giant whose business has spiked thanks to the infrastructure requirements of AI.
DeepSeek changes the game: China’s success with DeepSeek demonstrated the success smaller AI models could have, even when they were up against much larger U.S. rivals, Tricoire told CNBC in an interview. “The spread of AI models at every level of what we need is actually very good news,” he said.
Small is the new big: “We need AI to optimize your whole enterprise at all levels, so that you can buy better, consume better, decide better, source better,” Tricoire explained. “To do all of this, we need models to operate on a smaller scale.”
All in on AI: Schneider Electric has invested significantly in delivering AI-based solutions across its core markets—buildings, data centers, infrastructure, and industry—with the aim of transforming energy management and industry automation by unlocking new levels of efficiency and sustainability.
Winning bet: Schneider’s embrace of the business opportunities presented by AI has paid off. The company has performed strongly thanks to the increasing demand for electrification and digitalization solutions, a surge attributed to the growing need for efficient energy management in AI data centers and other high-demand sectors.
