DeepSeek Temporarily Limits Registrations Amid Malicious Attacks

BEIJING, China — DeepSeek, a rising Chinese artificial intelligence startup, announced Monday it would temporarily limit new user registrations due to “large-scale malicious attacks” on its services. Existing users, however, can continue to access the platform as usual.

The company, founded in 2023, has quickly emerged as a competitor to OpenAI‘s ChatGPT and Google‘s Gemini. Earlier on Monday, DeepSeek’s AI Assistant surpassed ChatGPT as the most-downloaded free app on the U.S. App Store, marking a significant milestone for the startup.

DeepSeek’s rapid ascent has sparked excitement among tech analysts, investors, and developers. The company recently released its R1 reasoning model, an open-source tool that rivals OpenAI’s o1. The R1 model has been praised for its performance and reasoning capabilities, contributing to its rapid adoption.

“The hype around DeepSeek may be warranted, especially in the generative AI arms race,” said one tech analyst. “The fear of falling behind in this ever-changing AI cycle is driving interest.”

DeepSeek originated from the AI research unit of a Chinese hedge fund in April 2023. The company focuses on large language models and aims to achieve artificial general intelligence (AGI), a branch of AI that matches or exceeds human intellect across a wide range of tasks.

Despite U.S. export restrictions on advanced technology to China, DeepSeek has managed to develop its models at a fraction of the cost of competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. Jefferies analysts estimated that the R1 model’s training cost was approximately $5.6 million, significantly lower than rival models.

The startup’s success has also raised questions about the AI industry’s sustainability. With astronomical funding rounds and billion-dollar valuations becoming increasingly common, some experts wonder if the sector is heading toward a bubble.

“The industry is awash with questions about whether these massive investments are necessary,” said an industry insider. “The low-cost development of models like DeepSeek’s R1 challenges the narrative that only big budgets can drive innovation.”

As DeepSeek continues to grow, its ability to navigate challenges like malicious attacks and industry skepticism will be critical to its long-term success.