Photo = Yonhap news

 

[Alpha Biz= Kim Jisun] Foreign media have reported that the Chinese government has confiscated the passports of multiple DeepSeek employees and banned them from traveling abroad to prevent potential information leaks.


According to U.S. tech media outlet The Information on Saturday, Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has come under strict government control since launching its inference model R1 in January. As the model was recognized for its outstanding performance and efficiency, the Chinese government classified the related technology as "trade secrets or state secrets," leading to the confiscation of key employees' passports. This move appears to be an effort to prevent them from leaving China without government approval.


Additionally, the Chinese government is reportedly playing a direct role in determining investors for DeepSeek. Some sources claim that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s leadership refers to DeepSeek as a "national treasure."


This development suggests that China is making an all-out effort to gain an upper hand in AI development competition with the U.S. Previously, foreign media also reported that Chinese authorities advised AI developers and executives to "refrain from traveling to the U.S."

 

 

 

 

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