Did DeepSeek leverage OpenAI data without authorisation? Microsoft flags suspicious activity

Microsoft’s security researchers reportedly observed individuals suspected to be connected to DeepSeek exfiltrating a large volume of data using OpenAI’s application programming interface (API). The API, which allows software developers to integrate OpenAI’s proprietary AI models into their applications, is available under a paid licensing arrangement.

Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest investor and technology partner, notified the AI firm about the activity, which may constitute a violation of OpenAI’s terms of service or indicate attempts to bypass restrictions on data access, according to the report.

The emergence of DeepSeek’s R1 has sent ripples through the global AI industry, triggering a sharp sell-off in technology stocks.

The company asserts that its DeepSeek-R1 model achieves a 97% success rate in certain tasks and operates at 95% lower costs than OpenAI’s comparable models.

The disruptive pricing and performance have raised questions among investors about the long-term valuations and dominance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

On Monday, shares of major AI-linked firms, including Microsoft, Nvidia Corp., Oracle Corp., and Google parent Alphabet Inc., tumbled, collectively erasing nearly $1 trillion in market value.

While OpenAI and DeepSeek are yet to respond to the Bloomberg report, David Sacks, US President Donald Trump’s AI czar, alleged on Tuesday that DeepSeek leveraged OpenAI’s technology to develop its own model.

In an interview with Fox News, Sacks pointed to a technique known as distillation, where an AI system learns from another’s outputs to replicate its capabilities.

“There’s substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled knowledge out of OpenAI models and I don’t think OpenAI is very happy about this,” Sacks said.