Chinese AI DeepSeek says hit by large-scale cyberattack

SAN FRANCISCO: Chinese AI sensation DeepSeek on Monday said it was limiting the registration of new users due to large-scale cyberattacks on its services.

The company, whose chatbot took over OpenAI´s ChatGPT as Apple´s top downloaded app on Monday, cited “large-scale malicious attacks” for outages and its inability to take on new users.

DeepSeek, which was developed by a start-up based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, has shown the ability to match the capacity of AI pace-setters such as Nvidia.

The low-cost Chinese generative AI venture is thought to have matched US companies in its abilities but at a fraction of the cost. Analysts had long thought that the United States´ critical advantage over China when it comes to producing high-powered chips -- and its ability to prevent the Asian power from accessing the technology -- would give it the edge in the AI race.

Available as an app or on desktop, DeepSeek can do many of the things that its Western competitors can do -- write song lyrics, help work on a personal development plan, or even write a recipe for dinner based on what´s in the fridge.