Italy’s data protection authority has blocked use of Chinese tech startup DeepSeek’s AI application to protect Italians’ data and announced an investigation into the companies behind the chatbot.

Italy's data protection authority said on Thursday it had blocked Chinese artificial intelligence model DeepSeek over a lack of information on its use of personal data. DeepSeek could not be accessed on Wednesday in Apple or Google app stores in Italy,

The start-up had become a key player in the “Chinese Large-Model Technology Avengers Team” that would counter US AI dominance, said another. China’s delight, however, spelled pain for several giant US technology companies as investors questioned whether DeepSeek’s breakthrough undermined the case for their colossal spending on AI infrastructure.

The U.S. tried to slow China’s advances, but the startup showed how hard that is.

The Chinese tech company DeepSeek is causing major waves in the AI industry - what are they doing that’s making everyone rethink AI’s future?

Meta has defended its $65bn (£52bn) investment in artificial intelligence (AI) days after US tech stocks wobbled in the wake of Chinese AI app DeepSeek's sudden rise. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said to investors on Wednesday there was a lot to learn from DeepSeek,

Key Takeaways Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Wednesday’s that the rapid rise of competitors from China has only strengthened the tech giant’s commitment to its AI ambitions. The CEO said it’s too early to know how growing competition from China could impact its future investments.