DeepSeek Nears US$74 Billion Valuation in New Funding Round

DeepSeek is nearing the completion of a new funding round valuing the company at about 500 billion yuan (US$74 billion) before investment, as the Chinese artificial intelligence start-up moves closer to a potential listing on Shanghai’s Star Market, according to people familiar with the matter.

The company was seeking to raise about 50 billion yuan in the round, which was expected to close before the end of August, according to one person.

Investors included incumbents from the company’s last fundraising round, such as local venture funds Monolith and Shixiang Capital, and Chinese battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Limited (CATL), another source said.

New investors in talks included CPE, Legend Capital and Stony Creek Capital – a semiconductor-focused private equity firm historically linked to Zhu Yiming, chairman of chip giant ChangXin Memory Technologies and founder of memory chip designer GigaDevice, the source added. Funds backed by GigaDevice and Hefei state investment vehicles were also involved.

The sources requested anonymity as they were discussing private information.

The latest funding round comes as Hangzhou-based DeepSeek has started preparing for a potential initial public offering on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-like Star Market. The company could file for an IPO as early as the end of the year, eyeing a public market debut in 2027, two sources said.