In short:
One of the "pivotal contributors" to creating the Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot DeepSeek studied computer science in Australia for several years.
Zizheng Pan also attended a university with close links to the Chinese military, then worked in the United States, before he helped develop the program.
What's next?
Australia has banned DeepSeek from all government devices and systems.
A software engineer who studied computer science in Australia after graduating from a university linked to the Chinese military has emerged as one of the key figures behind the groundbreaking and controversial artificial intelligence platform, DeepSeek.
Zizheng Pan, who describes himself as a researcher for the Chinese AI company, first began a masters in computer science at the University of Adelaide in 2018 before eventually completing a PhD in the same subject at Monash University last year.
What is DeepSeek? Why the AI startup is up-ending the US stock market
Photo shows A phone with DeepSeek on it. Behind it is a screen with ChatGPTA phone with DeepSeek on it. Behind it is a screen with ChatGPT
DeepSeek's AI assistant — a direct competitor to ChatGPT — has become the number one downloaded free app on Apple's App Store, with some worrying the Chinese startup has disrupted the US market.
Before moving to Australia, he received a bachelors degree in software engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology, a university labelled "very high risk" by security experts for its strong ties to the People's Liberation Army and other covert activities.
Harbin Institute of Technology excels in satellites, robotics and other technologies, while Chinese state media has described the institution as having "defence technology innovation and weapons and armaments modernisation as its core".
Zizheng Pan's former colleague Zhiding Yu, who supervised him while he was an intern at rival American company Nvidia in 2023, has praised the Chinese computer scientist as a "pivotal contributor to multiple significant innovations" at DeepSeek.
Engineer previously interned at DeepSeek competitor
The startup was founded in the Chinese city of Hangzhou in 2023, releasing its first AI large language model later that year. The ChatCPT rival burst onto the international scene last month, eventually becoming the most downloaded app via Apple.
"Zizheng was one of our interns at Nvidia in the summer of 2023. Later, when we considered extending him a full-time offer, he made the decisive choice to join DeepSeek with little hesitation," Zhiding Yu wrote of his former intern this week on social media.
China slams Australia's DeepSeek ban on government devices
In a Chinese foreign ministry statement, the Australian ban was described as the 'politicisation of economic, trade and technological issues'.
"At the time, the DeepSeek multimodal team comprised just three individuals. I continue to be deeply impressed by Zizheng's foresight back then.
"He has been a pivotal contributor to multiple significant innovations at DeepSeek, including DeepSeek-VL2, DeepSeek-V3, and DeepSeek-R1. Personally, I am thrilled about his decision and the remarkable milestones he has achieved".
Chip-maker Nvidia, where Dr Pan interned before moving to returning to China, was at the centre of a Wall Street frenzy sparked by DeepSeek's shock rise in popularity.
While at Monash University, Dr Pan received a graduate scholarship and was a member of the Zhuang Intelligent Processing Lab (ZIP Lab), a research collaboration between Australia and China focused on machine learning systems with an emphasis on areas such as large language models.
Several other Chinese students who completed their PhDs at Monash University while also being members of ZIP Lab are now working around the world for Beijing-controlled companies, such as ByteDance and its most popular subsidiary TikTok.
This week, Australia announced DeepSeek would be banned from federal government systems and devices over national security concerns, following a similar move made against TikTok in 2023.
While not covered by the government's ban, the ABC on Thursday announced it would also block the program from its devices.
The Chinese government slammed Australia's decision to ban the program on Wednesday night, describing the move as the "politicisation of economic, trade and technological issues".
The ABC has approached Dr Pan for comment about his studies in Australia and subsequent work helping to develop DeepSeek, but he has not responded.
Source: The ABC