Bloomberg reported that Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has secured roughly $15 billion (around 100 billion yuan) in a funding round, announced just two days after the U.S. ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek’s AI technology from their systems citing security concerns.
Investors and prior rounds
Reported potential investors include Chinese battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) and Tencent, the company behind WeChat, among others. The latest round follows DeepSeek’s June raise of more than $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation. In July the company was reportedly seeking an additional $1.5 billion at an approximate $71 billion valuation, and it has discussed the possibility of an initial public offering (IPO) in China as early as next year.
Expansion, infrastructure and competition
The Hangzhou-based startup is increasing spending on AI infrastructure and open models for both domestic and international markets, the report said. That expansion could intensify competition among China’s AI companies.
Global context and comparable fundraising
The large financing round is another example of investors funneling billions into AI firms around the world, including in China. For comparison, the Chinese company Moonshot AI (developer of Kimi) raised $2 billion at a $20 billion valuation in May, Manus AI secured more than $500 million earlier this month, and Zhipu AI (Z.ai) and MiniMax — both listed in Hong Kong in January — have market capitalizations of roughly $29 billion and $7.2 billion, respectively, as of today.
Founding and ownership
DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who previously co-founded the Chinese quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer; that fund helped finance DeepSeek’s early development. Corporate ownership data analyzed by WireScreen indicates Liang still holds an estimated 81.6% stake in the company’s Chinese operating entity following earlier funding rounds.
DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a TechCrunch request for comment.
