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Microsoft and OpenAI are reportedly investigating whether data from the artificial intelligence firm’s tech stack was improperly obtained by a group linked to Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.
Microsoft security researchers detected suspicious large-scale data extraction through OpenAI’s application programming interface (API) in late 2024, Bloomberg reported on January 29, citing people familiar with the matter.
Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest investor, notified the firm of the activity, which could violate the ChatGPT maker’s terms of service or could mean the group removed restrictions on how much data they could gather.
On January 20, the China-based DeepSeek released its latest AI model, R-1, which reportedly rivals market leader ChatGPT’s performance with a much lower build cost. The announcement caused a tech and AI stock slump that wiped billions from the US market.
The White House crypto and AI czar, David Sacks, told Fox News on January 28 that there is evidence DeepSeek used OpenAI’s model outputs to train their own AI through a process called distillation — where an AI model uses the outputs of another for training purposes to develop similar capabilities.
“There’s substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled knowledge out of OpenAI models, and I don’t think OpenAI is very happy about this,” Sacks said.
OpenAI acknowledged general concerns about Chinese companies attempting to distil US AI models but didn’t specifically address DeepSeek.
“We know PRC-based companies — and others — are constantly trying to distil the models of leading US AI companies,” an OpenAI spokesperson told Bloomberg, referring to the People’s Republic of China. — Bloomberg.
Online Reporter