Microsoft is investigating a data leak involving the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, according to Bloomberg.

As reported by Ukrinform, this information comes from Bloomberg.

According to sources, Microsoft security researchers observed a group of individuals this fall whom they believe may be associated with DeepSeek.

Sources also indicate that members of this group have stolen a significant amount of data using the application programming interface (API) of OpenAI.

It is noted that software developers can purchase a license that allows them to use the API to integrate OpenAI's artificial intelligence models into their own applications.

Insiders revealed that Microsoft, OpenAI's technological partner and its largest investor, has already informed the developer of ChatGPT about the actions of this group.

According to informed individuals, such activities may violate OpenAI's terms of service or suggest that the group acted to circumvent OpenAI's limitations on the amount of data they can obtain after paying for a license.

As Ukrinform reported, the Chinese startup DeepSeek with its generative artificial intelligence model DeepSeek-V3 has surpassed its competitor ChatGPT in the United States and has become the most popular free application available in the American Apple App Store.

DeepSeek has become the first startup to receive high ratings from the U.S. technology industry for performance levels that match or even exceed the most advanced American artificial intelligence models.

On Monday, shares of U.S. technology companies saw their first sharp decline in several years during pre-market trading, shaking the American stock market amid reports of the broad success of the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek.

On Tuesday, this decline continued.