Chinese AI Startup DeepSeek Claims Malicious Attacks, Temporarily Limits User Registrations

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek announced Monday that it would temporarily limit new user registrations due to “large-scale malicious attacks” on its platform.

The existing users, however, will still be able to access their accounts as usual, the company added. “Existing users can log in as usual,” DeepSeek said in its update. “Thanks for your understanding and support.”

The company added that while new registrations are not entirely restricted, with an alert banner on its sign-up page stating, “registration may be busy.” The banner advises users to wait and “try again” if their registration attempt is unsuccessful, according to a report by Verge.

Earlier in the day, DeepSeek experienced outages and performance issues that prevented users from signing in or creating new accounts.

The company has since marked these issues as resolved, although it did not provide specific details regarding the attacks or their impact on the chatbot app. Initially, there was speculation that the service disruptions were caused by an overwhelming influx of new users downloading DeepSeek’s AI Assistant app.

At one point, DeepSeek restricted new registrations to users with mainland China mobile phone numbers in an effort to “ensure continued service.” However, this requirement has since been removed, allowing users to sign up using Google or Apple ID credentials, in addition to email registration options.

The update on registration options now appears on DeepSeek’s web-based sign-up page, offering greater flexibility for users to join the platform.

The company, which has recently gained attention as a strong competitor to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini, has been experiencing a surge in popularity, especially after its AI Assistant topped the charts on Apple’s App Store as the most downloaded free app in the U.S. on Monday.

The move had led to a significant sell-off in global tech stocks, CNBC reported.

Outages As AI Assistant App Hits Milestones

DeepSeek’s unexpected rise was marked by its app becoming the most-downloaded free application in the U.S., surpassing OpenAI’s ChatGPT. However, the sudden spike in traffic caused temporary outages on its website and app.

Users reported issues logging in and with the app’s functionality, though the company quickly addressed these concerns, resolving problems related to its application programming interface (API). The disruptions on Monday were the company’s longest in nearly 90 days, according to its status page, Reuters reported.

Launch Of R1 Model Fuels Global Buzz

The surge in attention around DeepSeek is partly due to the release of its R1 reasoning model, which directly competes with OpenAI’s models.

Released last week, R1 is open-source, allowing developers to integrate it into their own AI systems, which propelled DeepSeek to the top of app stores, with users praising the model’s performance and advanced reasoning capabilities.

DeepSeek’s rise has also sparked debates over the growing competition between the U.S. and China in the development of AI technologies. Some U.S. tech experts expressed concerns about how quickly the Chinese startup has closed the gap with American AI companies.

Rising Competition

Tech analysts have noted that DeepSeek’s success highlights the intensifying AI arms race. In an industry expected to surpass $1 trillion in revenue in the next decade, both tech giants and startups are racing to maintain a competitive edge.

Despite the U.S. restricting chip exports to China, DeepSeek has managed to build advanced models at a fraction of the cost of its competitors. Estimates suggest the cost to train DeepSeek’s R1 model is just $5.6 million, which is less than 10% of the cost of Meta’s Llama, and much lower than similar models by OpenAI, Google, and others.

Founded in Hangzhou, China, in 2023, DeepSeek’s rapid ascent marks a significant shift in the global AI landscape, signaling increased competition and raising questions about the future of AI development worldwide.