DeepSeek V4 released by April 30?

Analysis

Here's what the skeptics keep missing: founder Li Zhen personally confirmed a late-April rollout, API previews are already circulating, and user sightings are multiplying by the day. That's not rumor mill noise — that's a company telling you exactly what it's about to do. Yes, DeepSeek missed earlier deadlines. But there's a crucial difference now: this isn't a vague promise, it's a public commitment with gray-market testing already underway. In China's AI wars, showing up late while Kimi and GLM gain ground isn't just embarrassing — it's commercially fatal. That competitive pressure is a harder deadline than any calendar date. The bears are leaning on history and habit. The bulls are leaning on actual evidence: leaked specs, live API whispers, and a founder who has staked his credibility on this week. Those aren't the same weight. Fair warning — Claude and GPT both called this wrong, and the tight six-day window is real risk, not theater. This isn't a certainty; it's a judgment call on whether momentum beats inertia. But when a founder is talking publicly and the product is visibly in testing, I back the launch — bet YES and keep your eyes on the official channels.