Tech & AI
DeepSeek raises about $15 billion from Tencent, CATL and others, doubling its fundraising target ahead of a planned listing
The Hangzhou AI lab's round of about 100 billion yuan values it at 500 billion yuan before the new money, Reuters reported.
HedgeWeekly Tech & AI Desk ·
Chinese artificial-intelligence developer DeepSeek has raised about 100 billion yuan, or roughly $15 billion, in a new funding round, Reuters reported on October 22, citing four people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal also reported the raise. The sum is double the original target of 50 billion yuan. One source told Reuters the round should close in the coming days and that terms could still change.
According to Reuters, existing shareholders Tencent and battery maker CATL were among the biggest investors. Others included food-delivery group Meituan, carmaker Geely, chipmaker GigaDevice, Midea, NetEase and investment firms Boyu Capital, CPE, Legend Capital and IDG Capital, with more than 15 investors in total. The sources said DeepSeek was valued at 500 billion yuan before the new money. The Journal put that valuation at about $74 billion. In June, DeepSeek raised $7.4 billion in its first outside round.
The Journal reported that founder Liang Wenfeng told investors in September that DeepSeek's annualised revenue run rate, meaning current sales projected over a full year, had reached $1 billion, mostly from businesses paying to use its models through the cloud. Reuters reported in September that the company had hired CITIC Securities to prepare a possible listing on Shanghai's STAR Market. The round came two days after the US ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek technology from their systems, TechCrunch reported. DeepSeek did not comment.
Why it matters: This is one of the largest private raises by a Chinese tech company, and it comes as a global selloff in AI stocks has delayed some data-centre listings. Backing from Tencent, CATL and Geely ties DeepSeek closely to China's largest listed tech and industrial groups, and a STAR Market listing would give mainland investors a direct way to own a leading Chinese AI model maker. Watch for the final terms, the listing timetable, and whether US restrictions widen beyond federal agencies.