DeepSeek nears first outside funding round of about $7.4 billion led by Tencent and CATL
DeepSeek is closing its first outside funding round, near 50 billion yuan ($7.4B), with Tencent $TCEHY and CATL as lead backers. A valuation up to $59B would rank among China's largest private AI raises. Founder Liang Wenfeng is putting in 20B yuan himself. Per Bloomberg and Reut
DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup behind the V3 and R1 models, is in final talks to raise about 50 billion yuan, roughly $7.4 billion, in its first outside funding round. If it closes, the deal would value DeepSeek between $52 billion and $59 billion, among the largest private AI fundraises to come out of China. Two names anchor the round: Tencent $TCEHY, reportedly weighing around 10 billion yuan, and battery maker CATL, looking at about 5 billion yuan. That pairing would make them the company's biggest external shareholders. Founder Liang Wenfeng is set to contribute 20 billion yuan of his own money, with the investor list deliberately kept at fewer than ten parties. China's national AI fund, NetEase $NTES and JD.com $JD are also in discussions. The round could close within the next few weeks, though the people describing it caution that terms are not yet locked. Reporting by Bloomberg, Reuters and CNBC, based on people familiar with the talks.