US Probing If DeepSeek Got Nvidia Chips From Firms in Singapore

US officials are probing whether Chinese AI startup DeepSeek bought advanced Nvidia Corp. semiconductors through third parties in Singapore, circumventing US restrictions on sales of chips used for artificial intelligence tasks, people familiar with the matter said.

DeepSeek recently released a chatbot, called R1, that in some respects performs as well as comparable tools from the US, suggesting that China is further ahead in the AI race than previously believed. Some prominent engineers have marveled at R1’s capabilities, and DeepSeek has touted the tool’s low cost and efficiency, prompting rivals to speculate whether it was built on the back of ...