The U.S. is investigating whether DeepSeek purchased Nvidia chips in violation of restrictions.

The U.S. authorities are investigating whether DeepSeek purchased advanced Nvidia semiconductors through third parties in Singapore to circumvent American restrictions. These chips may have been used for artificial intelligence development.

This was reported by RBK-Ukraine citing Bloomberg.

DeepSeek's chatbot reportedly matches American counterparts in several metrics. Some engineers were amazed by its capabilities, and DeepSeek promoted the tool’s low cost and efficiency. This led competitors to speculate that it was developed using Western technologies.

The FBI and officials from the White House are trying to determine if the startup DeepSeek used intermediaries in Southeast Asia to acquire Nvidia chips that the U.S. has prohibited from being sold to China.

A representative from Nvidia stated that the company insists its partners comply with all applicable laws. Earlier this week, the company released a statement regarding DeepSeek, asserting that it believes the Chinese firm did not violate American restrictions.

Howard Lutnick, appointed by President Donald Trump as head of the Department of Commerce, suggested on January 29 that DeepSeek may have evaded U.S. export controls.

"They were buying Nvidia chips by the ton, and they found ways to get around this. It has to stop. If they want to compete with us, let them compete, but they need to stop using our tools," Lutnick stated.

Sensational Artificial Intelligence

In January, DeepSeek released a new open-source artificial intelligence model named R1. This disrupted the market dominated by OpenAI, as well as Google and Meta Platforms.

Microsoft security experts observed that individuals who may be associated with DeepSeek were extracting large volumes of data using OpenAI or its API. Corporations Microsoft and OpenAI initiated a corresponding investigation.