Chinese tech startup DeepSeek’s new artificial intelligence chatbot has sparked discussions about the competition between China and the U.S. in AI development, with many users flocking to test the rival of OpenAI's ChatGPT.

DeepSeek's user registrations were halted by a massive cyber attack on the same day its AI app became the most downloaded on Apple's iPhone store.

Security experts are urging people to be cautious if considering using emerging AI chatbot DeepSeek because of the app’s links to China and the potential implications for personal data. The chatbot has upended the AI market with its emergence as a rival to the likes of ChatGPT and OpenAI,

Global technology stocks tumbled in late January as hype around DeepSeek's innovation snowballed and investors began to digest the implications for its U.S.-based rivals and their hardware suppliers.

The start-up had become a key player in the “Chinese Large-Model Technology Avengers Team” that would counter US AI dominance, said another. China’s delight, however, spelled pain for several giant US technology companies as investors questioned whether DeepSeek’s breakthrough undermined the case for their colossal spending on AI infrastructure.

Top White House advisers this week expressed alarm that China's DeepSeek may have benefited from a method that allegedly piggybacks off the advances of U.S. rivals called "distillation." The technique,