DeepSeek attracts over $12bn ahead of IPO
Chinese artificial intelligence developer DeepSeek is close to attracting more than 80 billion yuan, or about $12 billion, in a new financing round. The company has significantly exceeded its original target and is accumulating capital ahead of a planned initial public offering.
According to Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the talks, DeepSeek originally planned to raise about 50 billion yuan. However, investor demand turned out to be considerably higher than expected after the release of the company's latest models.
Among the largest participants in the new round are tech giant Tencent, which owns WeChat, and the world's largest electric vehicle battery maker CATL. Under signed preliminary agreements, the financing volume exceeds 80 billion yuan, and the final amount could approach 100 billion yuan, or about $15 billion.
The round is not yet closed. According to Reuters, DeepSeek expects to complete the fundraising in October. The company and investors have not publicly disclosed the deal details so far.
The new round is being conducted based on a valuation for DeepSeek of about 500 billion yuan, or about $74–75 billion. In the summer, the company began negotiations with exactly that business value guidance.
This is already DeepSeek's second large financing round in just a few months. In June, the company raised about $7.4 billion in its first external financing. Prior to that, the developer relied heavily on the resources of its founder, Liang Wenfeng, and the related quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer.
DeepSeek is raising additional capital as it prepares for an initial public offering in China. The company has hired CITIC Securities to prepare a possible listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market technology board. According to Bloomberg, the IPO could take place in early 2027.
DeepSeek has become one of the most prominent Chinese artificial intelligence developers after the release of the R1 family of models, and in 2026 it continued to expand its lineup of systems. Investor interest intensified after the release of new models, which the company positions as cheaper-to-use alternatives to those from the largest American developers.
The funds raised are also expected to support the expansion of DeepSeek's computing infrastructure. The company is developing its own capabilities for training and operating AI models amid Chinese companies' limited access to the most powerful American accelerators.
Based on materials from: Bloomberg
