*

Two US lawmakers alleged DeepSeek has relied on Nvidia ( NVDA )

chips

*

Lawmakers wrote letter to US national security adviser

Michael

Waltz

*

Congressional offices have reportedly been warned not to

use

DeepSeek

(Adds Axios reporting warning for congressional offices against

using DeepSeek in paragraphs 6, 7)

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - Two members of U.S.

Congress are calling on President Donald Trump's administration

to consider restricting the export of artificial intelligence

chips made by Nvidia ( NVDA ), alleging Chinese AI firm DeepSeek

has relied on them.

Republican John Moolenaar and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi,

who lead the House of Representatives Select Committee on China,

asked for the move as part of a Commerce and State

Department-led review ordered by Trump to scrutinize the U.S.

export control system in light of "developments involving

strategic adversaries."

"We ask that as part of this review, you consider the

potential national security benefits of placing an export

control on Nvidia's ( NVDA ) H20 and chips of similar sophistication,"

they wrote in a letter dated Wednesday and addressed to National

Security Advisor Michael Waltz.

In the letter, released on Thursday, they alleged that a

sophisticated AI model recently released by DeepSeek made

"extensive use" of Nvidia's ( NVDA ) H20 chip, which is currently outside

the scope of U.S. export controls.

The letter is a sign of growing concern in Washington about

China's rapid advances in AI after DeepSeek said its free AI

assistant launched last week uses less data at a fraction of the

cost of incumbent players' models, possibly marking a turning

point in the level of investment needed for AI.

In a separate notice reported by Axios on Thursday, the U.S.

House of Representatives' Chief Administrative Officer notified

congressional offices not to use DeepSeek.

"At this time, DeepSeek is under review by the CAO and

is currently unauthorized for official House use," the notice is

quoted as saying.

The U.S. fears China could harness AI to launch aggressive

cyber attacks or even develop a bioweapon, prompting former

President Joe Biden to spearhead a series of measures aimed at

cracking down on China's access to AI chips and the tools that

make them.

DeepSeek and the White House did not immediately respond to

requests for comment.

Nvidia ( NVDA ) said in a statement that its products "comply with

all requirements set by the government" and that the company "is

ready to work with the Administration as it pursues its own

approach to AI."

Reuters reported on Wednesday that the administration of

Trump, who took office on Jan. 20, is mulling new curbs on H20

chips, which can be used to run AI software and were designed to

comply with existing U.S. curbs on shipments to China.