DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup that recently made headlines with the release of its open-source R1 model, has temporarily paused new user signups due to a cyberattack. According to CNBC, the company halted new user registrations this morning, although existing users can still access their accounts without issue.

The sudden move comes just days after DeepSeek's R1 model generated significant buzz in the AI community. The company claims its reasoning model outperforms OpenAI's o1 on multiple benchmarks, sparking industry excitement and driving user interest. In fact, DeepSeek's app saw a remarkable 2.6 million downloads on Sunday, with 1 million downloads coming from last Friday alone, according to data from Appfigures.

Despite the cyberattack, DeepSeek has released a new image model family, showcasing the company's continued commitment to advancing AI technology. The rapid growth in user adoption and the release of new models demonstrate DeepSeek's ambition to become a major player in the AI landscape.

The temporary pause in new user signups raises questions about the security and robustness of DeepSeek's infrastructure. While the company has not provided further details on the nature of the cyberattack, the incident highlights the importance of robust security measures in the development and deployment of AI models.

As the AI industry continues to evolve, incidents like this serve as a reminder of the need for vigilance and proactive security measures to protect sensitive data and prevent disruptions to critical systems. TechCrunch has reached out to DeepSeek for comment and will provide updates as more information becomes available.

In the broader context, DeepSeek's experience underscores the challenges and risks associated with the rapid development and deployment of AI technologies. As AI models become increasingly sophisticated and widespread, the potential attack surfaces and vulnerabilities also grow. The incident serves as a wake-up call for the AI community to prioritize security and robustness in the development and deployment of AI models.