OpenAI Now Claims DeepSeek Copied ChatGPT

DeepSeek is shaking up the AI world, climbing to the top of app stores with answers that rival ChatGPT—at a much lower cost. But OpenAI isn’t happy about it. The company claims DeepSeek didn’t just build a great AI but may have copied ChatGPT’s work.

According to a recent report, OpenAI and Microsoft believe that someone pulled a massive amount of data from ChatGPT last fall. They suspect this data was used to train DeepSeek’s latest model, R1, which just launched.

This method, called ‘distillation,’ takes output from one AI and uses it to improve another. It’s a common strategy, but OpenAI says it breaks their rules.

Another source said that OpenAI actually allows developers to use its models in this way. But the real issue? DeepSeek’s AI competes directly with OpenAI, making things messy. The fact that DeepSeek’s model has open weights—meaning anyone can inspect and use its code—only fuels the controversy.

Even Donald Trump’s AI and crypto advisor, David Sacks, weighed in during an interview on Fox News. He claimed there was ‘substantial evidence’ that DeepSeek copied OpenAI’s work, though he didn’t share any actual proof or confirm if intellectual property was stolen.

Ironically, OpenAI is also under fire for copyright issues. The company is battling lawsuits, including a major one from The New York Times, for training its AI on articles without permission.

Meanwhile, the US Navy just banned DeepSeek, citing security and ethical concerns. This could be just the start, as governments and businesses start picking sides in what’s shaping up to be a brutal AI war in 2025.

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