DeepSeek Nears $15 Billion Round at $75 Billion Valuation

Chinese AI lab DeepSeek is closing in on a funding round of roughly 100 billion yuan — about $15 billion — that would value the company at around 500 billion yuan, or $75 billion, before the new cash lands. That's according to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters. The deal could wrap up within days, though financial details and the investor list may still shift.

The scale is the headline. The round would double DeepSeek's original target of 50 billion yuan, and the $75 billion pre-money valuation puts the startup in the top tier of China's AI sector almost overnight. Reuters' sources frame it as evidence of how hard corporate China is betting on AI as the country races the United States for advanced systems.

Who's writing the checks?

CATL, the world's biggest battery maker, and tech giant Tencent are among the largest backers, according to two sources cited by Reuters. More than 15 investors are involved in total, one source said.

The reported roster spans a striking range of industries:

• CATL — electric vehicle supply chain
• Tencent — consumer technology and online services
• Midea — home appliances
• Meituan — food delivery
• Geely — automaking
• GigaDevice — semiconductors
• Boyu Capital, CPE and Legend Capital — private equity
• IDG Capital — an existing investor returning

DeepSeek, CATL and Tencent did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters reported. Neither did the other named companies.

That lineup matters beyond the money. It ties DeepSeek's fortunes to firms across EV supply chains, consumer tech, chips and online services — industries that would all become customers or distribution channels for its models.

What does this change for the IPO story?

The round could be a stepping stone to public markets. Reuters reported in September that DeepSeek hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a potential initial public offering on China's STAR Market, the exchange segment aimed at technology and innovation companies.

But don't pencil in a listing date yet. The fundraising doesn't confirm an IPO will happen, nor does it set timing, per the report. What it does establish is that DeepSeek will have a substantially larger war chest — $15 billion in fresh capital — to develop its AI models while competing with global rivals.

The product underneath the valuation

Last month, DeepSeek released DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, a model the company said delivers greater capability, faster inference, higher throughput and support for scaling to larger models. Inference is the process by which an AI model generates responses after receiving a prompt — faster inference cuts waiting times and improves the experience of using AI applications.

The release, and now the funding, signal where investors think the leverage sits. DeepSeek has drawn attention as China works to strengthen its position in the global AI industry, and the reported round suggests backers see significant potential in the company — even with the final valuation and deal terms still subject to change.

For practitioners, the practical takeaway is simple: a $75 billion DeepSeek with CATL, Tencent and Geely on its cap table changes the competitive math for anyone selling AI models into Chinese enterprises. Watch the STAR Market filing pipeline if the round closes on these terms.