Sam Altman’s OpenAI accuses Chinese DeepSeek of copying AI models; writes letter to US lawmakers

Sam Altman-led OpenAI has accused Chinese DeepSeek of free-riding on the capabilities developed by OpenAI and other US frontier to replicate models and use them for its own training. The ChatGPT-maker has written a letter to the US House Select Committee warning them of DeepSeek using unfair and increasingly sophisticated methods to target OpenAI and America’s other leading AI companies. “Ahead of DeepSeek’s expected Lunar New Year release of a new, more powerful model, we are providing the Committee with an updated assessment of its evolving distillation tactics,” OpenAI writes in the memo.

“OpenAI believes that infrastructure is destiny: chip development, power generation, transmission, and data center capacity will determine which countries can train and deploy frontier systems.