Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek says it has been hit by massive cyberattacks. Chinese media outlets report that the attacks may have originated from IP addresses in the United States.

DeepSeek said on Tuesday that it had temporarily limited new user registrations "due to large-scale malicious attacks" on its services.

Chinese media reports on Wednesday quoted experts in the country as saying that all the attacks came from US-based IP addresses.

The reports said the cyberattacks began on January 3 and escalated from Monday through Tuesday.

DeepSeek's development of a low-cost generative AI model, which has become a global sensation, could become a new source of tension between Washington and Beijing.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday that the National Security Council was looking into the potential security implications of DeepSeek's AI breakthrough.

OpenAI, the developer of the ChatGTP AI-powered chatbot, is reportedly investigating allegations that individuals linked to the Chinese startup improperly obtained a large amount of data using the US firm's technology.