U.S. government has accused Chinese AI company DeepSeek of supporting China’s military and intelligence sectors, raising major concerns over national security and global tech competition. A senior U.S. State Department official revealed the shocking claims during a June 2025 briefing, prompting calls for tighter regulations and scrutiny over export controls.
🚨 1. DeepSeek Linked to China’s Military Procurement
Officials claim that DeepSeek appears in People’s Liberation Army (PLA) procurement documents, indicating direct involvement with China’s military AI operations. The company’s models are believed to be integrated into defense-related applications, including command systems and simulation tools.
📦 2. Chip Export Ban Violations Using Front Companies
DeepSeek allegedly acquired banned Nvidia H100 AI chips by routing them through shell companies in Southeast Asia. These chips are critical for training large language models and have been restricted for export to China since 2022.
This practice may violate U.S. export control laws designed to block China’s access to advanced AI hardware.
📡 3. User Data Shared with Chinese Government
Another alarming claim is that DeepSeek transmits user interaction data, statistics, and behavioral logs to Chinese authorities. This raises serious privacy and surveillance concerns, especially for international users unknowingly exposed to Chinese data policies.
🛡️ 4. Not Yet Blacklisted—but Under Watch
Despite the claims, DeepSeek has not yet been placed on the U.S. Entity List, a trade blacklist for companies involved in national security risks. However, the investigation signals that sanctions or bans may be forthcoming.
Nvidia confirmed it did not sell restricted chips directly to DeepSeek, insisting all exports comply with U.S. law.
🌐 5. Global Military Tech Tensions on the Rise
DeepSeek’s rapid growth and alleged military collaboration highlight deepening friction between the U.S. and China over AI dominance. The situation mirrors past actions taken against Huawei, DJI, and TikTok, where dual-use technology and surveillance risks triggered major trade and policy moves.
🔍 Background on DeepSeek
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek became one of China’s fastest-growing AI companies, known for launching DeepSeek-VL (a multimodal GPT-4-level model) and DeepSeek-Coder for code generation. The firm gained popularity across Asia but now faces mounting scrutiny for its role in military AI acceleration.
