A senior official from the U.S. Department of State revealed that the Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) corporation DeepSeek attempted to indirectly acquire the high-performance AI chip 'H100' through a shell company established in Southeast Asia. The chip, reportedly secured to evade U.S. export controls, suggests that American technology may have played a role in DeepSeek's AI technology growth, raising concerns.
On the 23rd (local time), Reuters reported, citing remarks from a U.S. State Department official, that DeepSeek attempted to secure the Nvidia AI chip 'H100', which is subject to export controls, through a ghost company in Southeast Asia. The 'H100' has been prohibited from direct exports to China since 2022 under U.S. government export controls. The official explained, 'DeepSeek has used shell companies to bypass controls and is accessing American-made chips remotely through data centers in Southeast Asia.'
Reuters also reported that 'DeepSeek's noticeable growth likely heavily relied on American AI chips and technologies,' and analyzed that 'DeepSeek's claims of technical expertise may have been exaggerated.'
Headquartered in Hangzhou, DeepSeek garnered attention in the global AI industry by unveiling an AI inference model that is both affordable and high-performance in January of this year. While this achievement has been regarded as successful amid U.S. semiconductor sanctions, if these claims are true, questions may be raised about the independence and self-reliance of Chinese AI technology.
In this context, a senior official from the U.S. Department of State noted, 'DeepSeek has willingly supported China's military and intelligence operations, and it is likely to continue doing so in the future.' Additionally, there are allegations that 'DeepSeek is handing over user information and statistics collected to Chinese authorities.'