OpenAI has accused Chinese AI startup DeepSeek of "recycling" ChatGPT's brain and "free-riding" on its capabilities to build its own models. A memo sent to US lawmakers alleges that DeepSeek is using distillation techniques to transfer knowledge from established US AI models.

• OpenAI claims DeepSeek employees developed methods to circumvent access restrictions and obtain outputs for distillation.
• DeepSeek and its parent company High-Flyer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
• OpenAI stated that Chinese large language models are "actively cutting corners when it comes to safely training and deploying new models."