With a high-stakes battle between OpenAI and its alleged Chinese rival, DeepSeek, API security was catapulted to priority number one in the AI community today. According to multiple reports, OpenAI and Microsoft have been investigating whether DeepSeek improperly used OpenAI’s API to train its own AI models. Bloomberg reported that Microsoft security researchers "detected that large amounts of data were being exfiltrated through OpenAI developer accounts in late 2024, which the company believes are affiliated with DeepSeek." The Financial Times also noted that OpenAI found evidence linking DeepSeek to distillation, a technique developers use to extract knowledge from larger AI models. This method allows companies to train AI models at a fraction of the cost incurred by OpenAI, which reportedly spent over $100 million on training GPT-4. OpenAI stated, "We know PRC (China) based companies—and others—are constantly trying to distill the models of leading US AI companies." The company has since blocked the accounts it believes were associated with DeepSeek. The OpenAI vs. DeepSeek Controversy David Sacks, the White House AI and crypto czar, weighed in on the controversy when speaking with Fox News on Tuesday, stating, “There’s substantial evidence that what DeepSeek did here is they distilled knowledge out of OpenAI models, and I don’t think OpenAI is very happy about this.” Fox News reported that OpenAI considers such activity a direct threat to its intellectual property and…Read More