Artificial Intelligence has transformed from research curiosity into all aspects of our lives driving work productivity, automations creativity, and innovation across industries. While proprietary models like OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google’s Gemini garner headlines, open-source platforms, like China’s DeepSeek, play a role in making  AI more accessible and spurring competition, hopefully fostering responsible development. In this article we explore why these open solutions deserve your attention, how they compare in capability and accessibility and what their rise means for users, businesses, and society.