AI News · $100M+ rounds ·
DeepSeek reportedly raises about $15 billion days after US agency ban
Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has raised about $15 billion, or roughly 100 billion yuan, Bloomberg reported. Battery maker CATL and Tencent are among the reported potential investors. The round came two days after the US ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's AI from their systems.
Key points
- Bloomberg reported DeepSeek raised about $15 billion, roughly 100 billion yuan.
- CATL and Tencent are among the reported potential investors.
- The round followed a US order removing DeepSeek AI from federal civilian agency systems.
What happened: DeepSeek, the Hangzhou-based AI lab, has raised about $15 billion, roughly 100 billion yuan, Bloomberg reported. TechCrunch described it as one of the biggest funding rounds in China. Battery maker CATL and Tencent are among the reported potential investors. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to TechCrunch's request for comment.
The details: The raise came two days after the US ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's AI technology from their systems over security concerns. According to Bloomberg, DeepSeek is increasing spending on AI infrastructure and open models for domestic and international markets despite US restrictions. The valuation for the new round was not reported.
Background: In June, DeepSeek raised more than $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation, according to Reuters. In July, TechCrunch reported that it was seeking an additional $1.5 billion at a valuation of around $71 billion, with a possible China IPO as early as next year. Liang Wenfeng founded DeepSeek in 2023 after co-founding the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, which helped finance its early work. Other Chinese labs are also raising money: Moonshot AI raised $2 billion at a $20 billion valuation in May, and Manus AI raised more than $500 million earlier in October.
What to watch: How the new capital affects the pace of DeepSeek's open model releases, and whether more governments follow the US in restricting its use.
Our take
A well funded DeepSeek is likely to keep releasing low-cost open models, which matters for teams weighing those options against the security restrictions some governments now apply.