DeepSeek, the AI research firm headquartered in Hangzhou, announced on Friday that it has put its second fundraising round on hold. The decision follows a leak of private remarks made by founder Liang Wenfeng during meetings with prospective investors. Liang told backers that the company still depended heavily on Nvidia hardware and that China lagged behind the United States in AI capability. Those comments spread rapidly on Weibo and other Chinese platforms, drawing widespread attention and prompting the company to pause the round.
The halted round was targeting a pre‑money valuation of roughly 480 billion yuan, or about $71 billion. It would have followed DeepSeek’s June Series B, which raised roughly $7 billion from a consortium that included Tencent, battery maker CATL and the National AI Industry Investment Fund. That earlier round valued the startup between $50 billion and $52 billion, making it one of the world’s most valuable AI companies.
Liang’s leaked comments touched a politically sensitive nerve. By acknowledging China’s reliance on U.S.‑made Nvidia chips, he highlighted the impact of U.S. export restrictions that have limited Chinese access to the latest processors. He also noted that the nation remains behind the United States in AI capability, a point at odds with Beijing’s narrative that Chinese firms are rapidly closing the gap.
Despite the funding pause, insiders say DeepSeek is still eyeing a public listing, possibly as early as this year. The company’s ownership structure places it under Zhejiang High‑Flyer Asset Management, a hedge fund Liang founded before turning to AI research. Bloomberg estimates Liang’s net worth at $36 billion, making him the wealthiest creator of AI models, ahead of Anthropic co‑founder Dario Amodei and former OpenAI president Greg Brockman.
DeepSeek’s strategy diverges from many Western rivals. The firm emphasizes aggressive pricing and open‑source development, attracting a large developer community while raising questions about long‑term financial sustainability. Liang has pledged to keep releasing open‑source models, a stance that differentiates the company but complicates capital‑raising at a $71 billion valuation.
Whether the pause represents a brief hiccup or signals deeper tension between DeepSeek’s research ambitions and investor expectations will depend on how quickly the controversy recedes. For now, the company remains in a holding pattern, awaiting a calmer environment before resuming its fundraising efforts.
Cet article a été rédigé avec l'assistance de l'IA.
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