China’s Tightened Restrictions on AI Startup DeepSeek
China appears to think homegrown AI startup DeepSeek could become a notable tech success story for the country.
New Government-Influenced Restrictions
After DeepSeek’s sudden rise to fame in January with the release of its open “reasoning” model, R1, the company is now operating under new, tighter government-influenced restrictions, according to The Information.
Some of the company’s employees have been prevented from traveling abroad freely, and the Chinese government is now playing a role in screening potential investors, according to The Information.
DeepSeek is enforcing the travel restrictions by having its parent company, quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, hold onto certain staff’s passports.
Government’s Caution on Trade Secrets
The developments come a few weeks after it was reported that the Chinese government was instructing AI researchers and entrepreneurs to avoid traveling to the U.S., fearing the loss of trade secrets.
