A new report from Microsoft has raised serious concerns about the growing global integration of DeepSeek, a Chinese AI start-up positioned as a rival to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
According to the report, DeepSeek is gaining traction not only in China but also in Australia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, France, and Spain, prompting heightened scrutiny from Western governments and technology firms. Other Countries widely using DeepSeek are Russia, Iran and Syria.
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek has rapidly expanded its footprint by offering free and “open-source” AI models, allowing key components to be accessed, modified, and deployed by developers worldwide.
In Australia, Chinese-owned PC manufacturer Lenovo has acknowledged integrating AI technologies into its products. However, while Lenovo continues to win government and major enterprise contracts, despite developed nations including Australia, Germany, and the United States having sought to limit the use of DeepSeek over alleged security risks.
Microsoft itself banned employees from using DeepSeek last year. While adoption remains low in the U.S. and much of Europe, usage has surged in China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, and Belarus — countries where U.S. services face restrictions or where governments are less concerned about Chinese technology being used within sensitive environments.
At CES 2026, widely described as the year of “AI everywhere,” AI notebooks were a major focus. Manufacturers including HP, Dell, Lenovo, ASUS, and Samsung showcased AI-centric laptops designed to boost productivity, creativity, and everyday workflows.
Chipmakers Intel and AMD unveiled next-generation AI silicon, including Intel’s Core Ultra Series 3 “Panther Lake” and AMD’s Ryzen AI 400 Series, emphasizing larger neural processing units (NPUs) capable of handling AI workloads locally without constant reliance on cloud services.
HP introduced several AI-ready OmniBook and EliteBook models, while ASUS expanded its AI-powered ExpertBook, Chromebook, Zenbook, and creator lines. Lenovo showcased updated ThinkPad X1 and ThinkBook systems aimed at professional users, although the company declined to specify which models, if any, were running DeepSeek. This lack of transparency has concerned partners such as Microsoft, given the alleged security risks tied to Chinese AI software.
Microsoft researchers warn that DeepSeek’s expansion could narrow the AI adoption gap between advanced and developing economies. Global adoption of generative AI tools reached 16.3% of the world’s population in the three months to December, up from 15.1% in the prior quarter.
However, the report also notes a widening divide: AI adoption in what Microsoft calls the global north is growing nearly twice as fast as in the global south.
“We are seeing a divide, and we are concerned that that divide will continue to widen,” said Juan Lavista Ferres, chief data scientist at Microsoft’s AI for Good Lab, which used anonymized telemetry data to track global usage trends.
Microsoft’s findings align with a recent Pew Research Center survey, which showed sharp differences between countries that are excited about AI and those that are more concerned.
Lavista Ferres said DeepSeek performs well in areas such as math and coding, but behaves differently from U.S.-based models when addressing political topics. Because DeepSeek operates within China’s restricted internet environment, its responses may reflect Chinese government positions.
“For certain types of questions, they follow the same access to the internet that China has,” he said. “That means some questions — particularly political ones — will be answered very differently. That can influence how people understand the world.”
DeepSeek offers a free web and mobile chatbot and allows developers worldwide to build on its core engine. Microsoft says the absence of subscription fees has lowered barriers for millions of users, especially in price-sensitive regions.
“This combination of openness and affordability allowed DeepSeek to gain traction in markets underserved by Western AI platforms,” the report said. “DeepSeek’s rise shows that global AI adoption is shaped as much by access and availability as by model quality.”
In many countries, DeepSeek’s popularity is reinforced by its integration as a default chatbot on smartphones produced by Chinese manufacturers. Brands such as Motorola, Oppo, and Xiaomi, all sold in Australia, have helped drive this exposure.
The report estimates DeepSeek’s market share at 89% in China, followed by Belarus (56%), Cuba (49%), and Russia (43%). In Iran and Syria, market share reached approximately 25% and 23%, respectively. Across several African nations — including Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and Niger — DeepSeek’s share ranged between 11% and 14%.
DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment.
At CES, the presence of numerous government pavilions underscored mounting concern among Western governments — particularly the United States — over the growing use of Chinese AI technologies. Those concerns extend beyond data privacy to include national security, geopolitical competition, and long-term technological influence.
While much of the scrutiny is directed at DeepSeek rather than Lenovo specifically, analysts say Lenovo’s adoption of the technology inevitably ties the company to these broader concerns. DeepSeek stores user data on servers in China, where national laws may compel companies to share information with state authorities — raising red flags for regulators, enterprises, and governments alike.
Lenovo and Chinese AI startup DeepSeek have been partnering for some time to integrate DeepSeek’s efficient large language models (LLMs) directly onto Lenovo’s AI PCs, tablets, and smartphones, enabling on-device AI with models up to 7 billion parameters for improved performance, lower costs, and enhanced user privacy, making Lenovo a leader in deploying advanced local DeepSeek AI for consumer devices.
This collaboration also powers Lenovo’s “Tianxi” (Xiaotian) AI agent, aiming to democratise AI access and significantly boost future AI PC sales and adoption the Company claims.
Ironically their PR Company MSIHerd and Lenovo fail to mention any of this in their press releases and are restricting Australian journalists to their products.
