TLDR
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is close to closing at least 80 billion yuan (about US$12 billion) in a second funding round, with Tencent and battery maker CATL among the largest contributors. The round cleared its original 50 billion yuan ceiling after DeepSeek shipped its V4 model in April 2026.
Second round, bigger number
DeepSeek is set to close at least 80 billion yuan (US$11.93 billion) in its second external funding round, with sources familiar with the matter confirming the figure to wire services on 6 October 2026.[1] Battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) and internet giant Tencent Holdings have committed among the largest individual amounts in the round.[2] DeepSeek has not confirmed the deal publicly; all figures come from sources familiar with the matter.
How the target got bigger
DeepSeek opened this fundraising in July 2026 targeting a 500 billion yuan (US$74 billion) valuation and originally sought about 50 billion yuan from investors.[1] Demand cleared that ceiling by 60 per cent after the company shipped its latest large language model.[2]
DeepSeek released its DeepSeek-V4 model on 24 April 2026, describing it as open-sourced and cost-effective with a one-million-token context window.[6] Omdia chief analyst Lian Jye Su said the model's benchmark results suggest it will be "very competitive against its U.S. rivals."[7]
What the valuation data shows
The round size is cleaner to read than the implied valuation. A stock-exchange filing by Chinese firm Anhui Korrun, lodged in July 2026, recorded a 2.90 billion yuan investment for a 0.8265 per cent indirect stake in DeepSeek, putting the total valuation at 350.88 billion yuan (US$51.82 billion).[4] DeepSeek's backers were targeting 500 billion yuan in the July fundraising, which suggests the second round was structured to push the price tag above that figure.
From first round to second
DeepSeek's maiden external funding round in June 2026 raised about 50 billion yuan (US$7.4 billion), marking China's largest single-round AI financing to that point.[5] Tencent, CATL, JD.com, NetEase and the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund all participated, the last being a state-backed vehicle created to reduce reliance on foreign semiconductor supply chains.[5]
The state fund's presence across both rounds points to a structural driver of the capital intensity. China's export-control environment limits DeepSeek's access to advanced US chips, pushing the company toward domestic chipmakers and requiring substantial investment in alternative computing infrastructure to train frontier models at scale.
Scale against global peers
The numbers sit well outside what Western AI labs have raised in comparable rounds. OpenAI raised US$10 billion in its 2023 round led by Microsoft at a US$29 billion valuation; Anthropic secured US$4 billion in late 2023. DeepSeek's current round exceeds both combined. The comparison carries limits, given that DeepSeek's infrastructure costs under chip restrictions differ structurally from those of US-based labs with open access to Nvidia's highest-end products, but the capital scale signals how seriously domestic Chinese investors are treating the company's competitive position. DeepSeek's next public disclosure will likely be the closing announcement, with no confirmed date set by the company.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
SOURCES & CITATIONS
- DeepSeek set to net over $12 billion in new fundraising
- DeepSeek to raise at least US$12 billion in Tencent-backed funding
- DeepSeek Transparency
- Chinese filing implies DeepSeek valuation of around $52 billion
- DeepSeek slated to raise $7 billion in maiden fundraising
- DeepSeek-V4 Preview announcement
- DeepSeek V4 analysis
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
