How much did DeepSeek reportedly raise?

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has reportedly raised about $15 billion, or roughly 100 billion yuan, in one of the largest funding rounds in China, Bloomberg reported. The deal comes just two days after the U.S. ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's AI technology from their systems over security concerns.

Who is investing in DeepSeek's new funding round?

Potential investors include Chinese battery maker CATL and Tencent, the company behind WeChat, among others, according to the report.

How has DeepSeek's valuation grown?

The new round builds on a fast climb in the company's valuation. DeepSeek raised more than $7 billion in June at a valuation of $50 billion. In July, the company was reportedly seeking an additional $1.5 billion at a valuation of around $71 billion, with plans for a potential IPO in China as early as next year.

The Hangzhou-based company is ramping up spending on AI infrastructure and open models for both domestic and international markets, the report said, even as it faces restrictions in the United States. That expansion could further intensify competition among Chinese rivals.

The funding push is part of a broader wave of investment in AI companies around the world, including in China, as countries race to lead the field. Moonshot AI, the developer of the Kimi chatbot, secured $2 billion at a $20 billion valuation in May. Manus AI raised more than $500 million earlier this month. Meanwhile, Zhipu AI (Z.ai) and MiniMax, which both went public in Hong Kong in January, have market capitalizations of roughly $29 billion and $7.2 billion, respectively, as of the report.

DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who previously co-founded Chinese quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer. High-Flyer helped finance DeepSeek's early development. The startup drew global attention in early 2025 with its free-to-use, open-weight reasoning model, which challenged the dominance of U.S. AI companies.

Liang retains an estimated 81.6% stake in the company's Chinese operating entity following its earlier funding round, according to corporate ownership data analyzed by WireScreen.

DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch.

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