Summary:
- The U.S. Commerce Department is reportedly investigating whether Chinese AI startup DeepSeek used restricted Nvidia AI chips in its latest models.
- DeepSeek’s recent AI advancements have raised concerns about U.S. competitiveness in the field.
- The investigation focuses on potential access to these chips through third parties, possibly in Singapore.
As reported by Fox Business, U.S. officials are investigating whether Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek, whose new AI models have recently gained attention, has been using advanced Nvidia semiconductors that are restricted from being shipped to China, according to multiple reports.
DeepSeek’s release of new AI models, claimed to rival those of leading U.S. tech firms but at a lower cost, has prompted concerns about American companies losing their edge in the AI race to Chinese competitors.
Reuters reported that the Commerce Department is probing whether DeepSeek accessed AI chips banned from Chinese access, adding that chip smuggling to China has been tracked from countries including Malaysia, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates. Bloomberg also reported that the department is investigating whether DeepSeek accessed high-performance Nvidia chips through third parties in Singapore.
An Nvidia spokesperson told FOX Business that many of its customers have business entities in Singapore and use them for products destined for the U.S. and the West. “Our public filings report ‘bill to’ not ‘ship to’ locations of our customers,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “We insist that our partners comply with all applicable laws, and if we receive any information to the contrary, act accordingly.”
DeepSeek could not be reached for comment on the matter.
DeepSeek has said it used Nvidia’s H800 chips, which it could have legally purchased in 2023. Reuters could not determine whether DeepSeek has used other controlled chips. DeepSeek also apparently has Nvidia’s less powerful H20s, which can still legally be shipped to China. The U.S. considered controlling them, and officials are reportedly discussing that as well.
The CEO of AI company Anthropic, Dario Amodei, said earlier this week that “it appears that a substantial fraction of DeepSeek’s AI chip fleet consists of chips that haven’t been banned (but should be), chips that were shipped before they were banned; and some that seem very likely to have been smuggled.”
The U.S. has placed restrictions on exports of AI chips to China and plans to limit shipments to other countries.
