Microsoft Corp. and OpenAI are investigating whether data from OpenAI’s technology was obtained without authorization by a group linked to Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, sources said. Microsoft researchers observed individuals possibly tied to DeepSeek extracting large amounts of data via OpenAI’s API last fall, potentially violating OpenAI’s terms of service. DeepSeek recently launched R1, an AI model claiming to rival US competitors. The announcement triggered a sharp sell-off in AI-related stocks, including Microsoft, Nvidia, Oracle, and Alphabet, erasing nearly $1 trillion in market value.  Trump’s AI czar, David Sacks, claimed there is substantial evidence that DeepSeek used OpenAI’s model outputs to develop its technology.