DeepSeek has been hit by large-scale malicious attacks, according to CNBC.
This has caused the Chinese artificial intelligence startup to temporarily limit user registrations on its services, though existing users will be able to log in as usual. This attack comes days after it launched a new flagship AI model, R1, which it claims is on par with OpenAI’s o1 model.
According to experts, Deepseek’s product is a huge leap in terms of scale and efficiency and may upend expectations of how much power and computing will be needed to manage the AI revolution, considering it was done on a cheaper budget than AI models like ChatGPT.
Read also: US tech stocks slump on Deepseek’s emergence
The startup has generated a lot of buzz since then, overthrowing ChatGPT as the most downloaded free app on Apple in the U.S. This has caused Nvidia’s and other US technology firms’ stock prices to plunge during early Monday trading.
AI chipmaker Nvidia slumped 11 percent in early trading, and Microsoft shares tumbled 3.8 percent, according to a report by Reuters. Chipmakers Broadcom and Advanced Micro Devices lost more than 14 percent and 5 percent, respectively.
DeepSeek grew from a Chinese hedge fund’s AI research unit in April 2023 to focus on large language models and reaching artificial general intelligence (AGI). It open-sourced its new R1 reasoning model that rivals OpenAI’s o1, which has fascinated AI developers who can use it to build products.
Read also: Meet Liang Wenfeng, founder of latest AI sensation, DeepSeek
Despite this attack, the startup just released a new model, Janus-Pro, for image generation and visual understanding.
