Home OpenAI accuses DeepSeek of using its AI models without permission

OpenAI accuses DeepSeek of using its AI models without permission

OpenAI has claimed that DeepSeek, a new AI chatbot developed in China, might have trained its own open-source model using OpenAI’s proprietary technology. In other words, they’re alleging that the the artificial intelligence start-up didn’t build everything from scratch but instead relied on OpenAI’s models to develop its competitor.

The Financial Times cited the San Francisco-based ChatGPT maker as having seen evidence of “distillation,” the process of transferring knowledge from a large model to a smaller one. As such, this would be seen as a breach of OpenAI’s terms of service.

Knowledge distillation has been put to good use in all sorts of areas, from natural language processing and speech recognition to image recognition and object detection. But in recent years, it’s become especially important for large language models (LLMs). When it comes to LLMs, distillation has proven to be an important way to pass on advanced skills from top-tier proprietary models to smaller, more accessible open-source ones. In this case, DeepSeek has been accused of breaching intellectual property.

A source told the FT: “The issue is when you [take it out of the platform and] are doing it to create your own model for your own purposes.”

US President Donald Trump’s new AI and cryptocurrency ‘tsar,’ David Sacks, also told Fox News: “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.

“I think one of the things you’re going to see over the next few months is our leading AI companies taking steps to try to prevent distillation.”

Still, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman did publicly applaud the open-source R1 model, calling it “impressive.”

DeepSeek is making investors nervous

DeepSeek’s release of its R1 model has sent shockwaves through global financial markets. The Chinese company seems to have pulled off results comparable to its biggest rivals, despite using far less money and computing power.

This has made investors rethink a key assumption behind the recent AI-driven stock market boom. The biggest AI players, or “hyperscalers,” need massive amounts of computing power to stay ahead. The uncertainty hit Nvidia particularly hard, causing its stock to suffer the largest single-day drop in market value in history on Monday (Jan. 27), though it managed to regain some ground on Tuesday.

OpenAI isn’t exactly free from criticism when it comes to intellectual property. The company is currently dealing with a lawsuit, led by The New York Times, where media companies accuse it of using their data without permission.

Still, these latest allegations against DeepSeek could add another layer to the ongoing tech battle between the US and China, making things even more complicated.

ReadWrite has reached out to OpenAI for comment.

Featured image: Canva / DeepSeek / ReadWrite

About ReadWrite’s Editorial Process

The ReadWrite Editorial policy involves closely monitoring the tech, gambling and blockchain industries for major developments, new product and brand launches, AI breakthroughs, game releases and other newsworthy events. Editors assign relevant stories to in-house staff writers with expertise in each particular topic area. Before publication, articles go through a rigorous round of editing for accuracy, clarity, and to ensure adherence to ReadWrite's style guidelines.

Suswati Basu
Tech journalist

Suswati Basu is a multilingual, award-winning editor and the founder of the intersectional literature channel, How To Be Books. She was shortlisted for the Guardian Mary Stott Prize and longlisted for the Guardian International Development Journalism Award. With 18 years of experience in the media industry, Suswati has held significant roles such as head of audience and deputy editor for NationalWorld news, digital editor for Channel 4 News and ITV News. She has also contributed to the Guardian and received training at the BBC As an audience, trends, and SEO specialist, she has participated in panel events alongside Google. Her…

Get the biggest tech headlines of the day delivered to your inbox

    By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Unsubscribe anytime.

    Tech News

    Explore the latest in tech with our Tech News. We cut through the noise for concise, relevant updates, keeping you informed about the rapidly evolving tech landscape with curated content that separates signal from noise.

    In-Depth Tech Stories

    Explore tech impact in In-Depth Stories. Narrative data journalism offers comprehensive analyses, revealing stories behind data. Understand industry trends for a deeper perspective on tech's intricate relationships with society.

    Expert Reviews

    Empower decisions with Expert Reviews, merging industry expertise and insightful analysis. Delve into tech intricacies, get the best deals, and stay ahead with our trustworthy guide to navigating the ever-changing tech market.