Chinese AI startup DeepSeek announced Monday it would temporarily restrict new user registrations following what it described as "large-scale malicious attacks" on its services. The company noted that existing users can continue accessing their accounts normally.
The cyberattack comes just as DeepSeek reached a major milestone, overtaking OpenAI's ChatGPT as the most-downloaded free app on Apple's App Store in the United States. The company has rapidly emerged as a strong competitor to established AI leaders like OpenAI and Google in recent weeks.
Founded in 2023 from a Chinese hedge fund's AI research division, DeepSeek made waves last week with the release of its R1 reasoning model, which rivals OpenAI's offerings. The open-source model has garnered praise from users for its performance capabilities.
What sets DeepSeek apart is its cost-effective development approach. According to Jefferies analysts, the R1 model's training costs were estimated at just $5.6 million - less than 10% of the cost of Meta's Llama model. This achievement is particularly notable given U.S. restrictions on chip exports to China.
The company's rise has sparked industry-wide discussions about AI development costs and valuations. While the market is projected to reach $1 trillion in revenue within a decade, DeepSeek's efficient approach raises questions about the necessity of massive funding rounds common in the AI sector.
Despite the current registration limitations due to the cyberattack, DeepSeek continues to focus on advancing artificial general intelligence (AGI) - technology designed to match or exceed human intelligence across various tasks.