DeepSeek’s management, at the behest of the Chinese authorities, is requiring some key employees to surrender their foreign passports. The DeepSeek project was declared a national property of China and is under increased protection, informs The Information.
Restrictions on travel outside the country are in place to prevent the leakage of confidential information that may contain commercial or state secrets. Even workers who have not yet surrendered their passports are reportedly facing restrictions on travel abroad.
“DeepSeek now operates under strict restrictions imposed by the government. Some employees are not allowed to travel abroad freely, and the vetting of potential investors now includes the involvement of Chinese authorities. The company’s management strictly enforces these restrictions, instructing the parent hedge fund High-Flyer to keep the passports of individual employees.
The measures come weeks after it was revealed that Chinese authorities were advising AI professionals to avoid traveling to the US over fears of commercial leaks., says the message.
At the same time, the growing popularity of the DeepSeek neural network has caused increased investor interest in the Chinese stock market, particularly in the technology sector. Over the past month, about 1.3 trillion dollars were invested in this segment, including by large hedge funds.
