DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence startup led by Liang Wenfeng, has temporarily suspended top-ups for its application programming interface (API) service due to server capacity shortages caused by overwhelming demand. The company, which gained global attention as a low-cost competitor to ChatGPT, has faced surging interest since the January 20 debut of its R1 AI model. DeepSeek's services, including its API, have been strained by the rapid increase in users, leading to operational adjustments. Existing API credits remain usable, but new top-ups are halted to prevent broader service disruptions. The company has also announced that discounted pricing for its services will end on February 8, with new rates set for its chat and reasoning models. Access to the API, priced at 2.19 dollars per million tokens, remains significantly cheaper than competitors. DeepSeek's emergence has disrupted the AI market, sparking a $1 trillion loss in U.S. and European tech stock value and raising concerns over its data practices and security, particularly due to its storage of data in China. The startup has also faced allegations of using OpenAI's models to train its own systems, scrutiny over its acquisition of Nvidia AI chips through third parties, and bans in Italy and on Australian government devices.