DeepSeek Experiences Prolonged Outage Affecting Millions

DeepSeek, a prominent Chinese artificial intelligence chatbot, faced its longest service disruption since its global launch in January 2025, with users unable to access the platform for over 13 hours. The outage began at 9:35 PM China Standard Time on Sunday, March 29, 2026, and was marked as resolved by 10:33 AM the following day. The company reported that the service was initially restored briefly but encountered a second outage shortly after midnight.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising CompetitionDeepSeek chatbot hit by longest outage since rapid riseDeepSeek Down for 13 Hours: Why the Chinese AI Chatbot Went OfflineDeepSeek endures significant international outageSouth China Morning Post

• March 29, 2026, 9:35 PM: DeepSeek's status page first indicates issues with both its web and app services.

DeepSeek Down for 13 Hours: Why the Chinese AI Chatbot Went Offline

• March 29, 2026, 11:23 PM: Engineers mark the problem as resolved.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

• March 30, 2026, 12:20 AM: A second incident is reported, leading to further disruptions.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

• March 30, 2026, 1:24 AM: Additional fix attempts are logged.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

• March 30, 2026, 9:13 AM: Another fix is implemented.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

• March 30, 2026, 10:33 AM: The service is marked as fully restored.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

The outage significantly affected DeepSeek's user base, which exceeded 355 million as of February 2026. Users took to social media platforms, such as Xiaohongshu (RedNote), to express their frustrations. One user noted, “Only after DeepSeek went down did I realise I no longer knew how to work without it.” This sentiment reflects the growing dependency on AI tools for daily tasks and work.

South China Morning Post

DeepSeek has not provided a clear explanation for the outage, labeling it a "major outage" without specifying whether it was due to server failures, software bugs, or internal updates. The company’s communication during such incidents has been limited, which has led to speculation among users and industry observers regarding the underlying causes.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

The timing of the outage is particularly critical as competition in the AI sector intensifies. Major Chinese tech companies, including Alibaba, ByteDance, and Tencent, have launched new AI models, increasing pressure on DeepSeek to maintain its market position. Additionally, the anticipation surrounding DeepSeek's next model, referred to as V4, is high, with expectations that it will be multimodal, capable of generating text, images, and video. However, no official release timeline has been provided.

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Critics have pointed out that the prolonged outage exposes the vulnerabilities of relying heavily on AI tools. The incident has raised concerns about DeepSeek's ability to deliver consistent reliability amid rising competition. Analysts suggest that the company must not only innovate but also enhance its operational stability to retain user confidence.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

As the company navigates the aftermath of this significant outage, attention will likely focus on its forthcoming V4 model and how it addresses both user needs and competitive pressures. The lack of a clear timeline for its release adds to the uncertainty surrounding DeepSeek's future in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

• “Only after DeepSeek went down did I realise I no longer knew how to work without it.” — User yezi888, Xiaohongshu

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition

• “a fix has been implemented and we are monitoring the results,” — DeepSeek Status Page

DeepSeek chatbot hit by longest outage since rapid rise

This incident serves as a reminder of the fragility of digital services and the critical role they play in users' daily lives.

DeepSeek Hit by Major 13 Hour Outage Amid Rising Competition