Chinese tech startup DeepSeek reported that it was hit by a cyberattack on Monday, which disrupted users’ ability to register on its website. However, registered users were still able to log in normally.

The company, known for its AI chatbot, stated that it had experienced “large-scale malicious attacks” on its services. DeepSeek gained significant attention in the AI industry last month when it released a new AI model that it claimed rivaled those from U.S. companies like OpenAI (the maker of ChatGPT). DeepSeek also highlighted that its model was more cost-effective in using expensive Nvidia chips to process vast amounts of data.

The chatbot became even more popular when it launched on the Apple and Google app stores earlier this year. By Monday, DeepSeek’s AI assistant had become the most downloaded free app on Apple’s iPhone store. This surge in popularity sparked debates about the growing competition between the U.S. and China in the field of AI technology. Some U.S. tech experts expressed concerns that the Chinese startup had caught up with leading American companies in generative AI, but at a much lower cost.

Founded in Hangzhou, China in 2023, DeepSeek released its first large language AI model later that same year.

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