HANGZHOU, China — AI startup DeepSeek is finalizing a funding round of approximately 100 billion yuan (US$14.98 billion), with battery giant CATL and WeChat operator Tencent among the largest investors, according to people familiar with the matter. The round, expected to close in the coming days, ranks among China’s largest private fundraising events and positions the company to accelerate its challenge to US rivals OpenAI and Anthropic.
The financing target was raised at least twice during negotiations. What began as a 50 billion yuan target was first increased to 80 billion yuan before ultimately settling at approximately 100 billion yuan. The rapid escalation underscores the intensity of investor appetite for exposure to China’s leading large-language-model developer. Financial terms remain subject to change, and representatives for DeepSeek, CATL, and Tencent did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The investor roster extends well beyond the two headline names. New participants in this round include home appliance maker Midea, food delivery giant Meituan, automaker Geely, and semiconductor company GigaDevice. Existing shareholders including IDG Capital, Boyu Capital, CPE, and Legend Capital are also participating. The total number of investors exceeds fifteen. Notably, CATL is substantially increasing its commitment, planning an additional injection of roughly 10 billion yuan after contributing approximately 5 billion yuan in the first round.
The valuation structure of the deal is unusual. Despite doubling the fundraising scale, DeepSeek’s pre-money valuation remains steady at approximately 500 billion yuan. This “larger scale, same valuation” arrangement reflects sufficient subscription demand following the first round, with a large pool of intended capital having been unable to enter previously. The company opted to expand the round at the same valuation to accommodate more industrial capital rather than bidding up its price.
The capital infusion comes as DeepSeek’s commercial momentum accelerates. The company’s annualized revenue run rate had reached US$1 billion by September, more than double its level a few months earlier. Chief Executive Liang Wenfeng told investors that higher prices for access to DeepSeek’s models had not deterred customers, and demand remained strong. The company generates most of its revenue by charging businesses and developers for API access to its models.
The funding also signals DeepSeek’s progression toward public markets. In September, the company hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a potential IPO on China’s STAR Market. The capital raised will support the company’s compute infrastructure buildout and its recent model development efforts, including the September release of DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash.
For the startup ecosystem, the round offers a case study in how a leading AI company can leverage strategic industrial investors—rather than purely financial backers—to secure both capital and supply-chain alignment. The participation of CATL, a battery manufacturer, and Geely, an automaker, alongside Tencent’s platform ecosystem, suggests DeepSeek is building a coalition of investors with stakes in the deployment of AI across energy, mobility, and consumer applications, not merely financial returns.
