OpenAI and Microsoft are investigating whether DeepSeek improperly trained its R1 model on outputs from OpenAI’s technology, according to reports from Bloomberg and the Financial Times. The probe centers on whether a group linked to DeepSeek obtained data in an unauthorized manner that could violate OpenAI’s terms of service or circumvent rate limits.

The accusation has drawn sharp commentary because OpenAI itself has faced years of criticism for obtaining large amounts of data from the internet largely in an unauthorized manner, and in some cases in violation of terms of service. “It is, as many have already pointed out, incredibly ironic that OpenAI, a company that has been obtaining large amounts of data from all of humankind largely in an ‘unauthorized manner,’ and, in some cases, in violation of the terms of service of those from whom they have been taking from, is now complaining about the very practices by which it has built its company,” wrote Jason Koebler at 404 Media.

On Hacker News, the article’s headline and framing drew pushback. Several commenters argued there is zero evidence OpenAI is actually “furious” and called the piece clickbait. “The company is not angry, or furious, or enraged. They simply suspect that deepseek broke their usage agreement and are trying to verify that,” said one user. Others, however, found the irony amusing, with one saying it would have been even better as the headline of a satirical takedown from Private Eye or The Onion.

Venture capitalist and Trump administration AI czar David Sacks told Fox News there is “substantial evidence” DeepSeek used a technique called distillation to “suck the knowledge” out of OpenAI’s models. Distillation involves a student model learning from a parent model by asking millions of questions.