Cyberattacks force DeepSeek to restrict access after AI assistant tops US app store

(Web Desk): Chinese startup DeepSeek has announced it will temporarily limit registrations following cyberattacks triggered by the sudden popularity of its AI assistant.

According to a reports, the startup had previously faced an outage on its website after its AI assistant became the top-rated free application on Apple's App Store in the United States.

The company, through its status page, stated that it had resolved issues related to its application programming interface and user logins on the website.

The outage on Monday was the longest the company had experienced in nearly 90 days, coinciding with its skyrocketing popularity.

Last week, DeepSeek launched a free assistant, claiming it uses far less data than current company models, which could signal a significant shift in the level of investment required for artificial intelligence.

According to app data research firm Sensor Tower, the DeepSeek-V3 model, which its creators claim is "leading in open-source models and competes globally with the most advanced closed-source models," saw a rise in popularity among US users after its release on January 10.

This milestone highlights how DeepSeek has made a deep impact in Silicon Valley, reinforcing widespread views about the US's dominance in artificial intelligence and the effects of Washington’s export controls targeting China’s advanced chip and AI capabilities.

On Monday, a downturn was observed in the tech-heavy Nasdaq as Wall Street and other global stock markets reacted to the emergence of China's low-cost generative AI projects, which have seemingly outpaced US companies.

DeepSeek, a startup based in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou, has demonstrated its ability to compete with AI trailblazers like Nvidia, whose shares dropped by more than 11%, leading to a loss of nearly $400 billion in market value.

The Nasdaq, a major tech index, led the losses, falling by 2.7%, while stocks of AI giants Meta, Microsoft, and Google's parent company Alphabet also experienced significant declines.

DeepSeek stated that it spent just $5.6 million on the development of its AI model, which is a fraction of the investment made by US companies that have poured billions into artificial intelligence.