A RMB500 billion pre-money price, about US$75 billion, puts DeepSeek far above listed rivals Zhipu and MiniMax and sets the bar for a potential STAR Market listing.
DeepSeek is wrapping up a funding round of about RMB100 billion (US$14.98 billion), with battery maker CATL and Tencent as its largest investors, Reuters reported on October 22, citing four people with knowledge of the deal. The round values the Hangzhou model developer at about RMB500 billion before the new money, and draws more than 15 investors. Bloomberg reported the raise first, according to TechCrunch.
The size is what stands out. DeepSeek set out to raise about RMB50 billion and ended with roughly twice that, which Reuters described as one of the biggest fundraisings in China. Caijing had earlier called it the country’s largest primary-market deal of the year. One of the people told Reuters the financial details and the investor lineup were not final and could still change. DeepSeek could not be reached by Reuters and did not respond to TechCrunch or to Huxiu, so every figure here comes from unnamed sources.
The timing gives the round a second meaning. It surfaced two days after Washington ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek’s technology from their systems, a move EastFrontier covered on October 20. The investor list that has emerged is entirely Chinese, and weighted toward companies that build hardware and supply chains.
Industrial investors dominate a round that doubled in size
CATL and Tencent are both existing shareholders, and two of the Reuters sources described them as among the biggest contributors. New names include chipmaker GigaDevice, food-delivery group Meituan, carmaker Geely and appliance maker Midea, while NetEase and IDG Capital are returning. Reuters also named Boyu Capital, CPE and Legend Capital as participants.
Chinese coverage adds detail and some differences. Huxiu reported that new and existing shareholders are each expected to supply about half of the money, and listed two chip-sector funds, Stony Creek Capital and Zhongxin Juyuan, among the newcomers; neither appears in the Reuters list. Taiwan’s Commercial Times, relaying the earlier foreign reports, described a target that was lifted in steps, first to RMB80 billion and then to about RMB100 billion.
Caijing first reported on October 13 that the round had grown to around RMB100 billion without any rise in the valuation. EastFrontier’s October 14 story tracked that doubling while terms were still moving. What has changed since is the breadth of the reporting: Reuters, Bloomberg and Chinese outlets now describe the round as close to finished, with a named investor group.
Two rounds in six months reshape DeepSeek’s balance sheet
DeepSeek took no outside money for most of its life. Its first external round closed in June and raised about US$7.4 billion, according to Reuters, which said filings by two Chinese investors in July implied a valuation of RMB350.88 billion. TechCrunch, citing earlier Reuters reporting, put that round at more than US$7 billion at a US$50 billion valuation.
Together with the June round, DeepSeek has raised roughly RMB150 billion in about six months. Huxiu and Caijing both put the combined total at that level. A pre-money valuation of RMB500 billion is about US$75 billion, a jump of more than 40% on the June price in about four months.
Founder Liang Wenfeng still holds an estimated 81.6% of the Chinese operating company after the June round, according to WireScreen’s analysis of ownership records, as cited by TechCrunch. Liang co-founded the quantitative fund High-Flyer, which financed DeepSeek’s early work. Bloomberg’s account, as summarized by TechCrunch, said the new money will go to AI data centers and open models.
The scale also changes DeepSeek’s position among China’s listed model developers. TechCrunch put the market values of Zhipu and MiniMax, which listed in Hong Kong in January, at roughly US$29 billion and US$7.2 billion. On the reported terms, DeepSeek’s private price exceeds the two companies combined by a wide margin.
A STAR Market listing is the next marker
Reuters reported in September that DeepSeek had hired CITIC Securities to prepare a potential listing on Shanghai’s STAR Market and aimed to begin the process this year, a point it repeated on October 22. Caijing reported that an application could be filed as early as the end of 2026. DeepSeek has also appointed a chief financial officer: Yan Wentao, a former partner at GL Ventures, joined in late September, Caijing reported.
A round this large, closed this close to a planned filing, would set the reference price that public investors and the exchange will weigh. The next confirmation to look for is a change in DeepSeek’s business-registration records listing the new shareholders, which none of the reports cited so far.