OpenAI says it has proof DeepSeek used its technology to develop AI model

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, says it has proof that the Chinese start-up DeepSeek used its technology to create a competing artificial intelligence model — fueling concerns about intellectual property theft in the fast-growing industry.

OpenAI believes DeepSeek, which was founded by math whiz Liang Wenfeng, used a process called “distillation,” which helps make smaller AI models perform better by learning from larger ones.

While this is common in AI development, OpenAI says DeepSeek may have broken its rules by using the technique to create its own AI system.

“The problem is when someone takes our technology and uses it to build their own product,” a source close to OpenAI told Financial Times on Wednesday.