DeepSeek's Huawei hardware costs and payback calculations

A user attributes a 10-month payback target to Liang and says Astra doubts DeepSeek can reach profitability on Huawei hardware on a reasonable timescale. In a reply, the user quotes a calculation in which approximately 640 accepted output tokens per second per installed 950DT at $45,000, or 980 per 960DT at $70,000, would support a two-year system cash payback under blended tariffs. The user calls those throughput estimates “terribly low” and argues Astra “must be missing a ton.”