The key facts
- DeepSeek raised about $15 billion (100 billion yuan), Bloomberg reports
- Potential investors include CATL and Tencent, among others
- In June the company raised over $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation; in July it sought another $1.5 billion at a valuation of about $71 billion
Major round amid US restrictions
Chinese AI lab DeepSeek raised about $15 billion (roughly 100 billion yuan) — one of the largest funding rounds in the country, Bloomberg reports. The round came two days after the US ordered the removal of DeepSeek technology from federal civilian agencies' systems over security concerns. According to Bloomberg, potential investors include battery maker CATL and Tencent, the company behind WeChat.
Previous rounds and IPO plans
The new funding follows DeepSeek's June round, when the company raised more than $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation. According to reports, in July it sought an additional $1.5 billion at a valuation of about $71 billion and was considering a possible IPO in China as early as next year.
Expansion and competition
The Hangzhou-based startup is increasing spending on AI infrastructure and open models for domestic and international markets, despite restrictions in the US, Bloomberg notes. Its expansion could intensify competition among Chinese developers.
Market context and founders
The round reflects the broader influx of capital into AI companies, including Chinese ones: Moonshot AI (the developer of Kimi) raised $2 billion in May at a $20 billion valuation, Manus AI raised more than $500 million this month, and Zhipu AI (Z.ai) and MiniMax, which went public in Hong Kong in January, have market capitalizations of about $29 billion and $7.2 billion respectively. DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, co-founder of the Chinese quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, which financed the company's early development. The company drew attention in early 2025 with its free open reasoning model R1. According to an analysis of the corporate structure by WireScreen, after the previous round Liang retains about 81.6% of the stake in the Chinese operating structure. DeepSeek did not respond to TechCrunch's request for comment.
