WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The United States has accused six Chinese artificial intelligence companies of conducting large-scale efforts to extract capabilities from leading American AI models.
The NSA, CISA and FBI said DeepSeek, Moonshot AI, Alibaba, MiniMax, StepFun and Z.AI have targeted US models since at least late 2024, potentially with Chinese government awareness. The agencies said the activity could allow Chinese firms to shorten development timelines and reduce billions of dollars in AI training and research costs.
According to the agencies, the companies used techniques including large networks of fraudulent accounts, bulk API queries and prompt injection attacks designed to extract proprietary capabilities and hidden reasoning from models including Claude, GPT, Gemini and Grok.
US AI companies were urged to strengthen identity verification, monitor unusual usage and detect coordinated extraction campaigns. They were also advised to downgrade suspected attackers to less capable models, although officials acknowledged that such measures could affect legitimate users.
The accusations represent the Trump administration's most detailed claims yet over alleged Chinese AI model theft. China has rejected the allegations as 'groundless,' saying its AI progress reflects technological self-reliance and accusing Washington of smearing Chinese companies.
The dispute comes as both countries accelerate investment in AI computing infrastructure ahead of a planned meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 24.
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