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February 5, 2025

European startups are rolling out DeepSeek despite safety concerns: ‘There’s still a risk’

Founders are finding it hard to resist DeepSeek's discount AI models — but experts advise treading carefully


DeepSeek sent shockwaves around the world last month. Credit: Solen Feyissa via Unsplash

European startups are rolling out products built using Chinese AI developer DeepSeek’s technology, despite safety concerns from some in the sector. 

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Kai Nicol-Schwarz

Kai Nicol-Schwarz was a senior reporter at Sifted. He covered AI and UK tech.

Anne Sraders

Anne Sraders is a senior reporter at Sifted, based in Berlin. She covers the venture capital industry and deeptech startups, including robotics, spacetech and defence tech. She also writes Sifted's weekly VC newsletter Up Round. Follow her on X and LinkedIn

Miriam Partington

Miriam Partington is a senior reporter at Sifted, based in Berlin. She covers the DACH region and the future of work, and writes Startup Life , a weekly newsletter on what it takes to build a startup. Follow her on X and LinkedIn

Martin Coulter

Martin Coulter is Sifted's news editor, based in London. You can follow him on LinkedIn and X

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