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China appears to be taking a closer interest in the rapidly rising AI startup DeepSeek. Following the company’s sudden rise to fame with the release of its open “reasoning” model, R1, in January, the Chinese government has allegedly placed tighter restrictions on the firm.
According to The Information, certain employees have been prohibited from traveling abroad freely, and the government is now playing a role in screening potential investors. DeepSeek has reportedly taken measures to enforce these travel restrictions by having its parent company, quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, hold onto specific staff members’ passports.
These developments come just weeks after reports emerged that the Chinese government was instructing AI researchers and entrepreneurs to avoid traveling to the United States, citing concerns over the potential loss of trade secrets.
Source: https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/14/china-is-reportedly-keeping-deepseek-under-close-watch/
