Chinese AI unicorn DeepSeek will double peak-hour usage fees for its V4 model API, shifting its pricing strategy after sparking a price war with deep discounts. The company told subscribers it will raise V4 API prices during peak hours of 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. Beijing time. The changes will take effect when the full V4 version goes online in mid-July.

Companies taking part in Korea’s independent AI foundation model project, known as Dokpamo, are stepping up efforts to build agentic AI capabilities ahead of a second-stage evaluation in August. Developers are focusing on orchestration skills such as tool calling as large language model use expands beyond simple Q&A to real work tasks. LG AI Research, Upstage, SK Telecom and Motif Technologies each say they are strengthening agent performance in their models for the review.