DeepSeek Prover and Beyond - DeepSeek Model Family Decoded
top of page
Search

DeepSeek Prover and Beyond - DeepSeek Model Family Decoded

Updated: 15 hours ago

With almost 2 million daily active users, DeepSeek AI has managed to hold a strong place in times when there are new AI models being launched consistently. DeepSeek’s ability to scale its model to come up with different versions make it a formidable opponent for many other AI models like ChatGPT, Grok AI, Google Gemini, Qwen 3, etc. And with so many different versions like DeepSeek Prover, DeepSeek V and DeepSeek R, it's completely understandable to feel lost in the sea of DeepSeek terms!


DeepSeek has been actively developing various AI models, and the naming can indeed be confusing. To understand these models better, let's break down each term in simple language and explain the relationships between them. Whether you're comparing DeepSeek vs ChatGPT, exploring DeepSeek integration, or seeking DeepSeek alternatives, this guide literally covers everything – and with a special focus on DeepSeek Prover.


To make it simple to understand, think of DeepSeek AI as a company that builds different kinds of smart robots (AI models). Each robot is designed for specific tasks and has different levels of intelligence and features. One of the standout models is DeepSeek Prover, designed for mathematical proofs.


Here is a detailed breakdown of the DeepSeek AI family.





1. DeepSeek Foundation Models (The Base Intelligence)


Think of these as the core ‘brains’ that power many of their specialized AI robots. These are large language models (LLMs) trained on massive amounts of text and code. This helps it to understand user prompts to generate human-like language. They also form the base of models like the highly popular DeepSeek Prover.


DeepSeek V1


DeepSeek V1 was one of the early, foundational large language models. It was a significant milestone in their development, demonstrating strong general language understanding and generation capabilities. DeepSeek V1 is like their first really smart bot that could understand and talk pretty well.


DeepSeek V2


DeepSeek V2 is a more advanced version of the foundational model. It's like a newer, smarter AI bot with improved understanding, reasoning, and the ability to handle more complex tasks. DeepSeek V2 likely has more knowledge and can process information more effectively than the V1 model.


DeepSeek V3


DeepSeek V3 is the latest and most powerful in their series of foundational models so far. Imagine this as their most intelligent and capable general-purpose AI model. DeepSeek V3 is designed to be even better at understanding nuances in language, solving problems, and generating high-quality text and code.


It has an efficient architecture, possibly using a ‘Mixture-of-Experts’ approach. This enables DeepSeek V3 to cleverly activate different parts of its ‘brain’ for different tasks, making it both powerful and relatively efficient. DeepSeek V3 foundation plays a huge role in powering DeepSeek Prover.


DeepSeek V4


While there is continuous internal research and development on even newer DeepSeek models, as of now, DeepSeek V4 is not yet a publicly released foundational model. DeepSeek V4 is likely something the company is working on for a future release. This model is aimed to represent the next generation of their core AI intelligence. So, think of this as an AI bot that's still in the design lab, not out in the world yet.


DeepSeek model differences can often be understood best by looking at how each version of the V-series improves in terms of reasoning, performance, and domain specialization. The evolution from V1 to V3 is what enabled models like DeepSeek Prover and the R-series to become high performers in their niches.



Key takeaway - V series


The DeepSeek V series (V1, V2, V3, and the future V4) represents their general-purpose, highly capable large language models. These form the foundation for their more specialized AI tools. Each new DeepSeek AI version aims to be smarter, more efficient, and better at understanding and generating language and code to place it ahead in the AI race where dominant players like OpenAI’s ChatGPT , Grok AI and Qwen 3 can be challenged.


They can easily be considered as the backbone for specialized models like DeepSeek Prover and DeepSeek R1 and R2. Each of these versions is smarter and more efficient than the last. These DeepSeek AI versions are key for comparing DeepSeek vs ChatGPT or DeepSeek vs Qwen 3 and evaluating the models on parameters like DeepSeek for coding performance or ChatGPT for image generation purposes.


DeepSeek Foundation Models (V-Series) – The Brain Behind Everything


Think of these as general-purpose AI engines that power specialized models.


📌 Evolution Path

V1 → V2 → V3 → (V4 - Coming Soon)


  • Each version improves in reasoning, efficiency, and knowledge.

  • V3 uses Mixture-of-Experts (MoE), making it smarter & faster.

  • V4 (in development) will push boundaries further.


✅ When to use? → General AI tasks, writing, research, and analysis.



2. DeepSeek Prover (The Math Whiz Robot)


Now, imagine the team behind DeepSeek taking the smart DeepSeek V brain and has specifically trained it to be a super-smart mathematician. This AI-based mathematician brain can understand and create formal mathematical proofs. That's essentially what the DeepSeek Prover version is. Well, love it or hate it – math will be everywhere. The good thing here is that AI will assist you by working on complex problems that usually terrify you.


Specialized for Math


Unlike the general-purpose V models, DeepSeek Prover is specifically designed for the rigorous world of formal mathematics. It understands mathematical language, theorems, and the step-by-step logic required to build a proof. This makes DeepSeek Prover a strong player among DeepSeek alternatives in the academic and technical AI spaces.


Works with Lean 4


DeepSeek Prover is built to work within a specific tool called Lean 4, which is a ‘proof assistant.’ Think of Lean 4 as a very strict teacher. This teacher is capable of checking every single step of a mathematical proof to make sure it's absolutely correct.


DeepSeek Prover helps mathematicians by suggesting and even generating these rigorous proof steps within Lean 4. If you're considering DeepSeek integration with mathematical software, this is the go-to model.



DeepSeek V2 as a Base


The latest version, DeepSeek Prover V2, is built upon the DeepSeek V2 foundational model. This means it uses the general intelligence of V2 but has been further trained. This expanded and varied training is fine-tuned specifically to make DeepSeek Prover V2 advanced in mathematical reasoning and formal proof generation. It's like taking their V2 robot and giving it extensive training in advanced mathematics and the rules of formal proofs.


ProverBench


There’s fierce competition in the AI field with every player trying to prove how it’s better than the other. In this intense competition, DeepSeek tested its model’s mathematical capabilities.


To test how good math whiz robot is, DeepSeek AI created ProverBench. This model is basically a set of challenging mathematical problems. It is designed to specifically evaluate the ability of AI models to generate formal proofs. This unique offering helps compare DeepSeek Prover with models like Qwen 3 and DeepSeek alternatives.


Key takeaway - DeepSeek Prover is a specialized AI model. This AI model is built on foundational LLMs (like V2). These DeepSeek LLMs focus on understanding and generating formal mathematical proofs within the Lean 4 proof assistant. It's their robot mathematician.


Developers, researchers and AI specialists often prefer DeepSeek API access for integrating DeepSeek Prover with customized academic tools and interfaces. When DeepSeek Prover is paired with DeepSeek API, it offers seamless scalability no matter what you are working on - symbolic logic or computational theorem proving.


DeepSeek Prover – The Math Genius 🤖➗


Built on DeepSeek V2, Prover model specializes in formal mathematical proofs using Lean 4.


Prover - Key features


  • Generates & verifies rigorous proofs.

  • Works inside Lean 4 proof assistant (like a strict math teacher).

  • Outperforms general AI models (e.g., ChatGPT) in theorem proving.


✅ When to use Prover? → Research, academic proofs, automated math verification.



3. DeepSeek R Series (The Code-Focused Robots)


DeepSeek R series is more focused on code-related tasks. You can think of these as AI bots that are particularly skilled at understanding, generating, and working with computer code, also making it a top choice among coders and software developers.


DeepSeek R1


DeepSeek R1 was likely one of the earlier models specifically designed for code. It is trained on a large dataset of code from various programming languages. This enables DeepSeek R1 to understand code structure, syntax, and logic, and to generate code snippets. It's like an AI bot that's a pretty good programmer. Why wouldn’t the coding experts love it even if it makes a large part of coding jobs redundant!


DeepSeek R2


DeepSeek R2 is a more advanced version of the code-focused model. It's like a newer, more skilled programmer robot – whoa, so you can expect more redundancy in coding jobs! DeepSeek R2 has a better understanding of complex code, can generate more sophisticated code, and is better at tasks like code completion, debugging, and explaining code.


Key takeaway - R Series


The DeepSeek R series (R1, R2) represents DeepSeek's models specifically designed for understanding and generating computer code. They are their programmer AI bots. For developers seeking DeepSeek for coding tasks or exploring DeepSeek integration with development environments, these models are top-tier, especially when it’s about DeepSeek vs ChatGPT in code-heavy use cases.



DeepSeek R-Series – The Coding Assistants 💻👨‍💻


Built for developers, these models write, debug, and explain code.


📌 Progression: R1 → R2

Model

Capabilities

Best For

R1

Basic code generation & completion

Simple scripting, snippets

R2

Advanced debugging, full-stack coding

Complex projects, IDE integration


✅ When to use? → Software development, debugging, learning to code.


In simple analogy - All 3 DeepSeek Models


DeepSeek V (V1, V2, V3, future V4)


These are their general-purpose smart robots that can understand and talk about many things. Each new version is like a smarter, more capable base model.


DeepSeek Prover


This is a specialized AI bot built on the V brain but trained to be an expert mathematician who can create and verify formal proofs. It's at the heart of comparing DeepSeek model differences when deciding between general-purpose and domain-specific AI.


DeepSeek R (R1, R2)


These are specialized robots also built on the V brain but trained to be expert programmers who can understand and write computer code.



Summary – DeepSeek AI Ecosystem


Hopefully, this breakdown clarifies the different DeepSeek terms and their relationships in a more understandable way! Whether you need a general-purpose AI (V-series), a math genius (DeepSeek Prover), or a coding assistant (DeepSeek R1/R2), DeepSeek AI offers custom solutions for different needs.


As DeepSeek continues evolving, future models like DeepSeek V4 and enhanced versions of DeepSeek Prover and the R-series will push AI capabilities even further and create new challenges for its main competitors like OpenAI ChatGPT, Qwen 3, Claude AI, etc.


If you're weighing DeepSeek alternatives, consider your domain - math, code, or general purpose. Don't forget to explore DeepSeek API and DeepSeek integration to fully experience the capabilities of models like DeepSeek Prover.



DeepSeek AI model family overview

Category

Model

Base version

Specialization

Key features

Use cases

Foundation Models

DeepSeek V1

N/A

General-purpose LLM

Early large language model, strong text/code understanding.

General AI tasks, basic Q&A.


DeepSeek V2

N/A

Enhanced reasoning

Improved knowledge, efficiency, and reasoning over V1. Powers DeepSeek Prover.

Advanced NLP, data analysis.


DeepSeek V3

N/A

MoE architecture

Latest general model; dynamic "Mixture-of-Experts" for efficiency.

High-quality text/code generation.


DeepSeek V4

(In Development)

Next-gen intelligence

Expected to surpass V3 in performance and versatility.

Future AI applications.

Math Specialist

DeepSeek Prover

V2

Formal mathematical proofs

Specialized for Lean 4 proof assistant; rigorous theorem proving.

Academic research, automated math proofs.

Code Specialists

DeepSeek R1

V-series

Basic code generation

Early code-focused model; understands syntax/logic.

Simple code completion, snippets.


DeepSeek R2

V-series

Advanced programming

Better at debugging, complex code, explanations.

IDE integration, full-stack development


Key relationships


1. Foundation → Specialized Models


V-series (V1/V2/V3) serves as the base for DeepSeek Prover (math) and R1/R2 (coding).

Example: DeepSeek Prover V2 = DeepSeek V2 + math fine-tuning.


2. Progression


V1 → V2 → V3 → V4: General capabilities improve.

R1 → R2: Code proficiency advances.


3. Benchmarks


ProverBench evaluates DeepSeek Prover’s proof-generation ability.

When to use which model?


  • General AI tasks: DeepSeek V3 (latest) or V2 (balanced).

  • Mathematical proofs: DeepSeek Prover (Lean 4 integration).

  • Coding assistance: DeepSeek R2 (advanced) or R1 (basic).



Visual Flow


DeepSeek Foundation Models

│

├───▶ Evolution Path (General AI)

│  │

│  V1 ───▶ V2 ───▶ V3 ───▶ V4 (General AI)

│

├───▶ Specialized Models

│  │

│  ├───▶ DeepSeek Prover (Math)

│  │        ├──▶ Theorem Proving

│  │        └──▶ Formal Verification

│  │

│  └───▶ DeepSeek Coder

│           │

│           R1 ───▶ R2 (Coding)

│                  ├──▶ Code Generation

│                  └──▶ Debugging



DeepSeek AI Models – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)


1. Can DeepSeek generate or analyze images/videos?


No, DeepSeek specializes in text and code-based AI (like DeepSeek Prover for math or DeepSeek R2 for coding). It does not process images/videos. It focuses instead on language models, proofs, and programming. This is where models like ChatGPT have an edge over DeepSeek.


2. Why is DeepSeek so affordable?


DeepSeek offers competitive pricing due to:


  • Efficient architecture (e.g., Mixture-of-Experts in V3).

  • Open-source components (reducing costs).

  • Strategic pricing to attract users vs. alternatives like ChatGPT.


3. Where is DeepSeek located? Who owns it?


DeepSeek is based in China. It has been developed by DeepSeek AI. The ownership details are private, but it’s backed by major tech investors in China.



4. Will DeepSeek go public?


No official IPO plans yet, but its rapid growth (e.g., DeepSeek Prover V2, R-series) suggests future funding expansions. There is a great possibility that it will be up for public trading soon.


5. Can DeepSeek transcribe audio or read PDFs?


  • PDFs: Yes! Upload text-based PDFs for analysis.

  • Audio: No. It’s text/code-focused (unlike multimodal AIs).


6. Can DeepSeek write code or search the internet?


  • Code: Yes! DeepSeek R1/R2 excel at code generation/debugging. In fact, these models give it an edge in DeepSeek vs ChatGPT comparison.

  • Internet: No, surfing is not possible. (no live browsing).


7. Can DeepSeek do math? Is it trustworthy?


  • Math: Yes! DeepSeek Prover specializes in formal proofs (via Lean 4). It’s certainly the top AI model in this field.

  • Trust: Reliable for text/code, but verify critical outputs.



8. Can DeepSeek be used offline or talk aloud?


  • Offline: No. It’s cloud-based (requires internet).

  • Voice: Text-only; no speech synthesis.


9. Why is DeepSeek’s server sometimes so busy?


High demand for DeepSeek Prover (math) and R2 (coding) can cause delays. Try non-peak hours or wait for some time to see it back in action.


10. Why is DeepSeek better than ChatGPT?


  • Specialization: DeepSeek Prover (math) and R-series (coding) outperform OpenAI’s ChatGPT in niche tasks.

  • Cost: Often cheaper than GPT-4.

  • Open models: Some versions are open-source.



11. Why is DeepSeek not working?


Check:


  • Server status (busy periods).

  • Login or password issues.

  • API limits (for DeepSeek API users).

  • Regional restrictions (China-based).


12. Is DeepSeek open-source?


Partially! Some models (e.g., earlier V-series) are open-source, but Prover V2/R2 may have proprietary elements.


13. How do I use DeepSeek APIs?


DeepSeek API offers access to:


  • Prover (math proofs).

  • R-series (code generation).

  • V-models (general NLP).


Docs: Visit DeepSeek’s official site (hypothetical link) for integration guides.


14. How to Access DeepSeek Prover?


You can access DeepSeek Prover through:


  • Official API: Integrate it into math tools using DeepSeek’s API (check developer portal for docs).

  • Lean 4 Plugin: Use it directly in the Lean 4 proof assistant for formal theorem proving.

  • Web Interface: If available, try DeepSeek’s official website or partnered academic platforms.


📌 Liked this guide?


  • Share it with developers & researchers!

  • Follow/bookmark this page for updates on DeepSeek V4 & beyond.




bottom of page