DeepSeek has closed its second external funding round, raising RMB 105.5 billion (about $15.8 billion) at a post-money valuation of RMB 615.5 billion (roughly $86 billion), according to details of the round reported by The Information and confirmed across Chinese financial filings.
Nearly 30 investors participated in the Series B, up from a narrower group in the company’s first round in June.
Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL remain the two largest private backers. Tencent contributed RMB 10 billion in both rounds.
CATL and its chairman, Zeng Yuqun, put in RMB 5 billion in the first round and RMB 10 billion in the second.
The round also drew industrial capital from memory chip maker ChangXin Memory Technologies, semiconductor foundry SMIC, vivo, Meituan, Geely Auto, Midea Group, Luxshare Precision, Ctrip, and Xiaohongshu, with individual tickets ranging from RMB 1 billion to RMB 3 billion.
State-backed participation rose sharply. The China National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund contributed RMB 1 billion, matching its first-round commitment.
China Mobile, China Telecom, CICC, CITIC Securities, and China Life also invested, with individual contributions between RMB 2 billion and RMB 8 billion.
State-owned investors accounted for about 27% of the second round, compared with roughly 2% in the first round, according to The Information.
DeepSeek doubled its original fundraising target midway through the process.
People familiar with the matter cited two drivers: sustained increases in prices for NVIDIA’s high-end chips, which raised the cost of computing hardware, and concerns about a potential bubble in the AI industry.
The final RMB 105.5 billion figure is more than double the roughly RMB 50 billion target DeepSeek began the round with.
The company has separately hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a potential initial public offering on Shanghai’s STAR Market, Reuters reported in September, citing two sources.
DeepSeek has selected four IPO underwriters, with CITIC Securities among them, according to Yonhap Infomax. No listing timetable, deal size, or target valuation has been confirmed.
The funding round lands against a backdrop of U.S. government restrictions on DeepSeek’s software. The Department of Homeland Security ordered federal civilian agencies in late July to remove DeepSeek products and third-party tools built on its models from government IT systems, and blocked agencies from procuring its services.
Beijing has criticized the order and warned of retaliatory measures.
DeepSeek’s annualized revenue run rate reached $1 billion as of September 2026, more than double its level a few months earlier, per CEO Liang Wenfeng’s remarks to investors.
The company generates most of its revenue by charging businesses and developers for API access to its models, just like any other AI company does.
