OpenAI Flags DeepSeek Over R1 Training

SelfRugger · 2026-03-16T11:09:32+00:00

OpenAI has alerted U.S. lawmakers that Chinese competitor DeepSeek may be improperly using American AI outputs to train its R1 chatbot, utilizing distillation techniques that bypass safeguards. This raises concerns about unfair competition and potential scrutiny from Washington.

SelfRugger

2026-03-16 11:09:32

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OpenAI Flags DeepSeek Over R1 Training

Moz Farooque ACCA

Fri, February 13, 2026 at 8:22 PM GMT+9 1 min read

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This article first appeared on GuruFocus.

OpenAI (OPENAI) is turning up the heat on its Chinese rival, warning U.S. lawmakers that DeepSeek (DEEPSEEK) may be tapping into American AI outputs to help train its R1 chatbot.

According to a memo sent Thursday to the House Select Committee on China and reviewed by Bloomberg, OpenAI said DeepSeek has been using so called distillation techniques to extract value from leading U.S. models. The company described it as an effort to free ride on the capabilities developed by OpenAI and other U.S. frontier labs. OpenAI also said it has detected new, obfuscated methods aimed at bypassing safeguards meant to prevent misuse of its systems.

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OpenAI did not quantify financial damage, but the implication is clear. In an AI race where training data and model outputs are core competitive assets, even indirect extraction raises red flags. DeepSeek has been positioning R1 as a breakthrough chatbot, and any suggestion that it leaned on U.S. model outputs could deepen scrutiny in Washington. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), OpenAI’s key partner, also has exposure as geopolitical tensions increasingly intersect with AI infrastructure and cloud services.

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