ChatGPT creator warns Chinese startups are ‘constantly’ using its technology to develop competing products

OpenAI has warned that Chinese startups are “constantly” using its technology to develop competing products and said it is “reviewing” allegations that DeepSeek used the ChatGPT maker’s AI models to create a rival chatbot.

OpenAI and its partner Microsoft – which has invested $13bn in the San Francisco-based AI developer – have been investigating whether proprietary technology had been obtained in an unauthorised manner through a technique known as “distillation”.