From knowing nothing to running a live quant system — the tools that got me there.
January 2026. I started building a quant trading system.
Couldn’t write a single line of code.
My first move wasn’t to learn programming. It was to find an AI that could write it for me.
First Stop: A Basic Chatbot
I started with a basic Chinese AI assistant.
Low barrier, good Chinese, answered everything. I asked how to build a quant system and got a response that sounded complete and logical.
The problem showed up quickly.
The answers were too polished. Every complex question got a response that looked right on the surface — clear structure, confident tone — but the code had bugs, the logic had gaps.
The most dangerous thing an AI can do for a beginner is sound correct while being wrong.
Second Stop: DeepSeek
Switching to DeepSeek changed things immediately.
Code quality was noticeably higher. More of it ran without errors on the first try. Technical questions got direct answers without padding.
I used DeepSeek to write the earliest core scripts — data download, basic feature engineering framework. This phase moved fast.
Then I hit a wall.
Complex architecture decisions. System-wide logic. DeepSeek could solve isolated problems but couldn’t hold the whole picture in mind. It would fix one thing and break another.
Third Stop: Claude
Claude felt different from the first session.
Not just code — it could understand what I was trying to build, catch problems I hadn’t noticed, and push back when I was heading in the wrong direction.
System architecture. Model selection. Backtest logic. The questions that require judgment, not just syntax — Claude handles those.
The tradeoff: it costs more.
How I Use Them Now
Not every task needs the most powerful tool.
| Task | Tool | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Quick code, simple questions | DeepSeek | Fast, cheap, good enough |
| Research, finding information | Perplexity | Cited sources, doesn’t hallucinate |
| Architecture, hard decisions, system design | Claude | Worth the cost |
Match the tool to the task. It saves money and time.
Advice for Beginners
Start with DeepSeek. It’s free, handles Chinese well, and the code quality is solid for getting started.
When you hit problems that DeepSeek can’t solve — the kind where you need someone to understand your whole system, not just the current error — that’s when Claude becomes worth it.
Don’t start with the most expensive tool. First figure out what you’re actually building.
All content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency trading involves significant risk of loss. Trade responsibly.
Questions: hi@dayou.tech