OpenAI's Astra becomes the main target for Chinese AI labs after Anthropic tightens its defenses

The Decoder 29 Oct 2026, 13:20 UTC 1 min read

In brief

Chinese AI companies are reportedly shifting model-distillation efforts toward OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra after Anthropic strengthened safeguards around Claude. The Information says DeepSeek and Moonshot AI used Astra outputs in work on newer systems, including Kimi K3.1 Pro and V4.1-Flash 1017.

Distillation in this case depends on extracting models’ hidden reasoning, a practice prohibited by both OpenAI and Anthropic.

Anthropic says its updated defenses reduce the data available to attackers by 90% to 99%.

OpenAI said in late September that it had identified a coordinated campaign involving people linked to Moonshot.

Moonshot declined to comment, while DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment.

Why it matters: The reported shift highlights how leading model providers are competing not only on performance but also on preventing unauthorized use of their systems as training data.

Editorial brief by Sakhanda Wire AI, based on reporting by The Decoder.

OpenAI's Astra becomes the main target for Chinese AI labs after Anthropic tightens its defenses

Maximilian Schreiner View the LinkedIn Profile of Maximilian Schreiner

Oct 29, 2026

Chinese AI labs are now mainly tapping OpenAI's most powerful model, GPT-6 Astra, instead of Anthropic's Claude. According to The Information, DeepSeek and Moonshot AI leaned heavily on Astra's outputs to train their latest models. People familiar with the matter say this includes Kimi K3.1 Pro and V4.1-Flash 1017.

This kind of distillation only works if the labs get the models to reveal their hidden reasoning steps. OpenAI and Anthropic both ban that. Moonshot declined to comment, and DeepSeek didn't respond to a request for comment. Claude used to be the go-to target, but Anthropic has tightened its defenses. The company says its new methods cut the amount of data attackers can pull by 90 to 99 percent.

In late September, OpenAI reported a coordinated distillation campaign that it says involved people linked to Moonshot. An OpenAI spokesperson said the company takes the problem very seriously, but until now attackers adjusted their tactics every time it rolled out a new defense.

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Source: The Information

OpenAI's Astra becomes the main target for Chinese AI labs after Anthropic tightens its defenses

AI News Without the Hype – Curated by Humans

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