
Bloomberg: US investigating DeepSeek’s possible purchase of Nvidia chips in Singapore
US authorities are investigating whether Chinese company DeepSeek purchased Nvidia chips through third parties in Singapore to circumvent US restrictions, Bloomberg reports, citing sources.
‘U.S. authorities are investigating whether Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek bought advanced semiconductors from Nvidia Corp. through third parties in Singapore to circumvent U.S. restrictions on the sale of chips used for artificial intelligence tasks,’ the agency said in a statement.
Earlier, the US Commerce Department released a document saying the United States is imposing new restrictions on the export of advanced AI chips and models to protect national security and prevent unfriendly countries from using these technologies. According to the ministry, the restrictions should prevent hostile states from using AI technologies for weapons development, cyberattacks or mass surveillance. At the same time, the ministry assured that access to advanced technologies will be preserved for Washington’s trusted partners and allies. China has criticised the decision.
China-based DeepSeek on 20 January announced the release of the R1 version of its artificial intelligence (AI)-based assistant, which, according to its website, is as good as ChatGPT. The corresponding mobile app topped the rankings in a number of countries after the release of the new version of the assistant. In particular, in Apple’s App Store, the DeepSeek assistant took first place in the US, UK, UAE, Japan, South Korea and China.