DeepSeek is close to raising at least 80 billion yuan, about $12bn, in a new funding round reported by Bloomberg News on Tuesday. Tencent and battery maker CATL have committed some of the largest sums, according to people familiar with the matter. The final total could approach 100 billion yuan, which matters because it would make the Chinese AI lab one of the most heavily funded private model developers.
Round size, backers and listing plans
The company had first set out to raise about 50 billion yuan, but demand grew after the launch of its latest model. That shift lifted the target by at least 30 billion yuan and opened the way toward 100 billion yuan. The round has not been announced by DeepSeek, so timing, valuation and scale remain unconfirmed. For business observers, the gap between the initial target and the possible final figure signals strong investor interest rather than a fixed deal.
The structure repeats the pattern of the first outside round earlier this year, which raised about 50 billion yuan at a valuation of $52bn to $59bn. Founder Liang Wenfeng was the largest investor then, putting in about 20 billion yuan of his own money. Tencent added roughly 10 billion yuan and CATL about 5 billion yuan, alongside JD. com, NetEase and China's national AI investment fund. Those same two backers now lead the new round, which suggests continuity in the shareholder base instead of a broad change of investors.
DeepSeek originated from High-Flyer, the quantitative hedge fund set up by Liang. The lab attracted widespread attention around the beginning of 2025 due to its R1 open-source model and launched its V4 models this year. Tencent runs the WeChat messaging app and a large cloud business, while CATL makes batteries for electric cars and is working on solid-state batteries. Last month Reuters reported that DeepSeek had secured CITIC Securities to prepare for a possible initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR Market, although listing details were not determined.
What the funding means for AI buyers
For companies that build products on third-party models, a larger DeepSeek war chest points to continued availability of low-cost open-source systems alongside proprietary alternatives. The V4 release cycle shows that new versions arrive within the same year, so procurement teams should track model updates rather than lock a single version into long-term workflows. Small firms gain a chance to test capable models without large license commitments, while large firms can run pilots across cloud environments, including Tencent cloud infrastructure.
The same news leaves several conditions that buyers and partners need to verify before making decisions. Valuation, timing and final scale of both the funding and the possible STAR Market listing are still undetermined. Reuters noted in June that closer association with DeepSeek could help Tencent keep up with domestic competitors, which means distribution priorities may favor its own ecosystem. This round alone does not guarantee pricing, support terms, or compliance terms for enterprise use, so contracts and data controls still require direct checks with vendors.
The marker to follow is whether the round closes near 100 billion yuan and whether CITIC Securities moves the STAR Market preparation into a filed prospectus. A confirmed close would show that demand after the latest model translated into committed capital. A formal IPO step would define disclosure, governance and timelines that corporate customers use to assess long-term reliance on DeepSeek technology.
