Chinese AI lab DeepSeek is now bringing in revenue at an annualized rate of $1 billion, The Information reports, more than double the under $500 million it was running at a few months ago. The report cites two people with direct knowledge of the matter, and DeepSeek has not commented.

The jump is put down to a recent price rise and to steady demand for the company's models. DeepSeek warned developers in August that a sharp increase to its API prices was on the way, as the South China Morning Post reported at the time. According to The Information, fees went up between 2.3 and 4.5 times depending on the model, and founder Liang Wenfeng told investors that customers had stayed.

A run rate takes recent earnings and projects them across a full year, so it shows momentum rather than money already in the bank. The Information reported last month that DeepSeek earned about 475 million yuan ($70.7 million) in the first seven months of 2026, roughly ten times its revenue for all of 2025. Most of that money comes from developers who pay to use DeepSeek's models through its API. The company's chatbot is free to use.

The revenue figure arrives as DeepSeek nears the end of its second funding round. The Information says the company is finalizing a raise of $7.5 billion, a round that Bloomberg has put at a valuation of about 500 billion yuan, or $74 billion. That round has not run smoothly. DeepSeek paused it in July after leaked remarks by Liang went viral on Chinese social media, then restarted talks in August.

The lab only began taking outside money this year. It closed its first round, of roughly $7 billion, in June, with Liang himself providing a large share of the cash. As the company continues to grow, it's likely to face increased scrutiny over its API pricing and revenue model. With the rise of answer engine optimization (AEO) and generative engine optimization, companies like DeepSeek are well-positioned to capitalize on the growing demand for AI-powered search and content generation.

Este artículo fue escrito con la asistencia de IA.
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