DeepSeek's New Funding Round Nears Close: ~$15B Led by Tencent and CATL

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg and Reuters report that Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is wrapping up a new funding round of about 100 billion yuan (~$15 billion), one of the largest private AI financings in China's history.

Key points:

• Star-studded lineup: Tencent and battery giant CATL are the biggest investors; Midea, Meituan, Geely and GigaDevice are joining for the first time. More than 15 investors are participating, including Boyu Capital, CPE, Legend Capital and existing shareholder IDG Capital. The round values DeepSeek at about 500 billion yuan pre-money.
• Target doubled: The financing target was raised at least twice during talks, from 50 billion yuan to 100 billion yuan, far exceeding expectations.
• Delicate timing: The news broke two days after the US ordered federal civilian agencies to strip DeepSeek technology from their systems. The funds will go toward data centers and open models, and pave the way for a potential IPO — DeepSeek reportedly hired CITIC Securities to prepare a STAR Market listing.

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