DeepSeek raises about $15 billion, double its target, as Tencent and CATL back its path to an IPO

DeepSeek is wrapping up a funding round that has brought in about 100 billion yuan ($14.98 billion) from existing and new investors, two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Thursday. Battery maker CATL and WeChat operator Tencent are among the biggest investors, one of them said. The round is expected to close in the coming days, but one source cautioned that the details are not ironclad and could change. DeepSeek, CATL and Tencent did not comment.

Double the plan

The original target was 50 billion yuan, so the round is twice that. CNBC reported on October 6 that DeepSeek was considering expanding to as much as 100 billion yuan, with state-backed funds and corporate investors jostling for stakes. According to CNBC's sources, DeepSeek was vetting investors closely and turning away private funds raised from individuals, limiting the pool largely to government and corporate money. CNBC named CATL, Geely Auto, Monolith Management and Loyal Valley Capital as having committed capital. That list is from October 6, before this week's report, and we have not seen a final investor list.

The valuation, with a caveat

The Reuters report gives no valuation. CNBC's October 6 report said DeepSeek was seeking about 500 billion yuan, or $75 billion, and that some prospective investors had wavered over the price, delaying a round once expected to close by the end of August. An investor filing from the first round, which raised about 50 billion yuan in June, implied roughly 350 billion yuan. So the reported ask has risen by about 43% in four months: 500 divided by 350. Treat $75 billion as the price DeepSeek sought, not a confirmed closing figure.

Why it matters

This is a state-and-industrial-capital story. Reuters noted that many of the investors are backed by the state or large corporations, as China aims to get ahead in the AI race with the United States. DeepSeek only began taking outside money this year. Reuters reported in September that it had hired CITIC Securities to prepare a possible STAR Market IPO, and Bloomberg, cited by CNBC, said it is eyeing a listing in early 2027. A raise of this size would make the IPO a way for early backers to be repriced, not the company's first source of capital.

The model side is moving too. DeepSeek released V4.1 Flash last month, which it said offers greater capability, faster inference and higher throughput. CNBC reminded readers that the company set off a sell-off in US tech stocks in January 2025 when its models rivaled American ones at far lower cost.

The same week, a weaker China market

The raise lands while China's equity market is in a slump: the CSI 300 entered a bear market this week. Private AI capital is flowing in while public-market money is leaving, one reason a Shanghai listing is a test of whether the public market will pay up. Our report: China's CSI 300 falls into a bear market.

What to watch

• A closing announcement or filing that confirms the amount, the investors and the valuation.
• An IPO filing with the STAR Market, which would require audited financials and disclose revenue.
• The effect on US AI names: SpaceX's chip spending shows the scale of American compute budgets for comparison.

Sources: Reuters, via The Standard (Hong Kong); CNBC. Figures come from unnamed sources and could change. This is market information, not investment advice.