DeepSeek Lands $15B Raise, Bolstering China's AI Expansion
The Chinese AI firm secured the massive capital infusion just after U.S. federal agencies were ordered to purge its systems over security concerns.
By Thomas Reynolds ·
DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence laboratory, has secured approximately 100 billion yuan, or about $15 billion, in funding, a report from Bloomberg said Thursday. The transaction stands as one of the largest financing rounds recorded in China. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The capital raise arrived just two days after U.S. authorities directed federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek’s technology from their networks due to security concerns. Potential contributors to the new round include battery manufacturer CATL and Tencent, the parent company of WeChat, according to the report.
The new financing follows a June investment period during which DeepSeek raised over $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation. In July, the startup was reportedly seeking an additional $1.5 billion at a valuation near $71 billion, with plans for an initial public offering in China as early as next year.
Based in Hangzhou, the startup is increasing expenditure on AI infrastructure and open models for markets at home and abroad, the report said, even as it navigates restrictions within the United States. Its growth could further heighten competition among domestic rivals.
DeepSeek’s funding is part of a broader trend of investors worldwide committing billions to AI enterprises to compete in the global race. Chinese company Moonshot AI, developer of Kimi, secured $2 billion in May at a $20 billion valuation. Manus AI raised over $500 million earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Zhipu AI (Z.ai) and MiniMax, both of which listed in Hong Kong in January, have market capitalizations of roughly $29 billion and $7.2 billion respectively as of Oct. 22, 2026.
DeepSeek was established in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who had previously co-founded the Chinese quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, which financed DeepSeek’s early development. The startup garnered global attention in early 2025 with its free-to-use, open-weight R1 reasoning model, challenging the dominance of U.S. AI firms. Liang retains an estimated 81.6% stake in its Chinese operating entity following the earlier funding round, according to corporate ownership data analyzed by WireScreen.
Source: TechCrunch
