DeepSeek Targets $7 Billion in First-Ever Fundraising Round, Sources Say

DeepSeek has never taken outside money. That changes now. The Chinese AI startup is set to raise about 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) in its first funding round, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The fundraising could value DeepSeek at between 350 billion yuan and 400 billion yuan, or $52 billion to $59 billion, after the investment closes. 

Sources say the round is expected to complete within the next couple of weeks, though final terms could still change. For context: DeepSeek’s valuation has moved from an estimated $10 billion just weeks ago to nearly $60 billion today, a number that reflects both Beijing’s backing and the global weight the company carries in the AI race.

Who Is Investing and How Much

The investor list is short by design. The planned number of investors is fewer than 10. Here is where the 50 billion yuan breaks down:

Investor	Committed Amount	Role
Liang Wenfeng (Founder)	¥20 billion ($2.9B)	Largest single contributor
Tencent Holdings	¥10 billion ($1.47B)	Largest external investor
CATL	¥5 billion ($735M)	Second largest external investor
China National AI Fund	TBC	In final talks
NetEase	TBC	In final talks
JD.com	TBC	In final talks
IDG Capital / Monolith Capital	TBC	Among prospective investors

Founder Liang Wenfeng’s ¥20 billion personal commitment anchors the round, with Tencent at ¥10 billion and battery giant CATL at ¥5 billion making them the largest external backers. The inclusion of CATL, a company whose core business is EV batteries, signals how broadly Chinese industry is positioning around AI infrastructure.

Why DeepSeek Is Raising Now

DeepSeek ran entirely on internal capital until today. The decision to raise externally is driven by three clear priorities.

The company will allocate the proceeds toward expanding computing infrastructure, enhancing employee compensation, and speeding up commercialization and model releases. A significant motivation is also to offer equity stakes to employees amid a competitive talent market, as DeepSeek researchers have faced poaching by rival firms.

On the product side, an upgraded V4.1 model is expected in June 2026. The round also carries a strategic dimension that goes beyond DeepSeek itself. China’s National AI Industry Investment Fund, an $8.8 billion state-backed vehicle established in early 2025 is negotiating to participate, alongside Big Fund III, which supports domestic semiconductor and AI independence from US technology.

What DeepSeek Actually Built

The fundraiser makes more sense when you understand what DeepSeek delivered in early 2025. DeepSeek became China’s national AI champion after its V3 and R1 models drew widespread praise in Silicon Valley and directly challenged US assumptions about China’s AI capabilities. The models were notably efficient, trained at a fraction of the cost of comparable US systems, which rattled Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) stock and triggered a broad selloff across AI infrastructure names when the R1 model launched in January 2025. 

NVIDIA fell 17% in a single session on that news, wiping nearly $600 billion in market cap. The models proved that frontier AI performance did not require frontier-scale spending, a claim the market had not priced in.

The Bigger Picture: China vs US AI

DeepSeek’s $7 billion round arrives as US AI valuations sit at historic highs. Here is how the numbers compare:

• Anthropic – Filed for US IPO on June 1, 2026, at a $965 billion valuation
• OpenAI – Currently valued at $852 billion
• SpaceX – Valued at $1.75 trillion ahead of its public listing
• DeepSeek – Post-money valuation of $52–59 billion, lean by comparison, for a company competing at the frontier level

If the round closes at its projected scale, it would surpass all recent AI fundraises in China, positioning DeepSeek among the world’s most valuable AI startups. No IPO timeline has been confirmed. The startup has made no statements about whether it plans a public offering in the future. Follow DeepSeek’s funding developments at reuters.com and cnbc.com for sourced updates as the round closes.

Disclaimer:

The content shared by Meyka AI PTY LTD is solely for research and informational purposes. Meyka is not a financial advisory service, and the information provided should not be considered investment or trading advice.