Synopsis
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is nearing a massive $7.4 billion funding round, with tech giants Tencent and CATL leading the investment. DeepSeek’s fundraising would mark a new level of ambition from China’s AI leaders as they seek to compete with their American counterparts in the field.Listen to this article in summarized format
Social media giant Tencent and battery pioneer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd. are the two biggest investors in a group that’s begun signing term sheets for the fundraising this week, according to people familiar with the matter. The state-backed National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund is also taking part, in a major endorsement from Beijing, said the people, asking not to be identified because the details are confidential.
External investors will put in some 30 billion yuan at a valuation of roughly 350 billion yuan, said the people. Founder Liang Wenfeng personally invested about 20 billion yuan, adding to the startup’s fundraising, the people said.
DeepSeek’s fundraising would mark a new level of ambition from China’s AI leaders as they seek to compete with their American counterparts in the field. Liang and his little-known Hangzhou company have forged a reputation for significant technical breakthroughs, beginning with a 2025 AI model that matched the capabilities of Silicon Valley offerings at a fraction of the cost.
Tencent, developer of the WeChat messaging service, landed the biggest investment in DeepSeek at 10 billion yuan, the people said, a deal that could further its ambitions to integrate AI into its business. Rival Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. was said to have been involved in discussions at an early point, but ultimately did not invest.
Tencent and CATL representatives declined to comment. Alibaba and DeepSeek spokespeople didn’t respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of Finance, which adminsters the National AI Fund, didn’t respond to a faxed request for comment.
DeepSeek’s senior management has told potential investors that the startup will prioritise groundbreaking AI research over short-term commercialisation. Liang pledged in at least one meeting with investors he will keep developing open-source AI models while pursuing a broader goal of achieving artificial general intelligence. The hedge fund manager and AI pioneer made it clear the main goal is to push the boundaries of the technology rather than monetisation, Bloomberg News has reported.
DeepSeek’s focus on developing AI over making profits aligns with the startup’s consistent approach to the AI industry. Chinese open-source models have proliferated globally because of their broad accessibility, an approach popularised by DeepSeek and used to great effect by Alibaba and its Qwen platform.
At the same time, pressure is mounting on AI firms — including in China — to begin delivering on the bottom-line after hundreds of billions of dollars of investment in computing infrastructure. Liang’s research-first philosophy is striking at a time global peers from OpenAI to Anthropic are exploring public listings and multiple ways to generate new revenue.
The AI Fund’s involvement underscores the importance that Beijing is attaching to the startup.
Founded in 2023, DeepSeek is owned by Liang’s hedge fund Zhejiang High-Flyer Asset Management. The startup is now expanding into agentic AI in the wake of OpenClaw’s emergence, tapping a wave of enthusiasm for software that can carry out tasks without human intervention.
