DeepSeek raises first outside funding round about 7.4 billion dollars led by Tencent and CATL at 52 to 59 billion valuation
China's DeepSeek is set to raise about $7.4 billion in its first-ever outside funding round, with Tencent $TCEHY and battery giant CATL among the largest backers. Reports put the post-money valuation at $52 to $59 billion, ending years of refusing external capital.
China's DeepSeek, the AI lab that rattled global markets in early 2025 with low-cost models, is preparing its first-ever outside funding round. According to reporting from Reuters and CNBC, the company is set to raise about 50 billion yuan, or roughly $7.4 billion, in a deal that could value it at between $52 billion and $59 billion. Founder Liang Wenfeng, whose quant hedge fund High-Flyer long bankrolled the lab and allowed it to avoid external investors, is reported to be committing about 20 billion yuan of his own capital. Tencent $TCEHY is in line to invest around 10 billion yuan and battery giant CATL about 5 billion yuan, making them the largest outside backers. China's national AI fund, NetEase and JD.com are also named among potential participants. The move marks a reversal of DeepSeek's years-long policy of self-funding, a stance that had set it apart from cash-hungry rivals in both China and the US. For a company that built its reputation on doing more with less, taking on billions in outside money signals a shift toward the heavy compute and capital demands now shaping the AI race. The reported investor mix, spanning a social media and gaming giant, a battery manufacturer and state-linked capital, also underlines how closely China's commercial and strategic interests are converging around domestic AI champions.