Australia has banned DeepSeek AI services from all government systems and devices, becoming one of the first countries to take direct action against a Chinese artificial intelligence startup that shook Silicon Valley and global markets this year.

Australia issued a statement that requires all government entities to prevent the access, use or installation of DeepSeek products, applications and web services on Australian government systems and mobile devices.

Beijing has criticised Australia's decision to ban Chinese-owned AI chatbot DeepSeek from government devices. It comes as the federal government on Tuesday announced it was banning DeepSeek from workplace devices “to protect Australia’s national security and national interest".