DeepSeek Approaches $12 Billion Funding with Major Investors

DeepSeek, an artificial intelligence startup, is close to raising at least 80 billion yuan (approximately $12 billion) in a new funding round, surpassing its initial target of about 50 billion yuan. Major investors include Tencent Holdings and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL).

Bloomberg reports that the funding could potentially reach 100 billion yuan (around $15 billion) based on signed term sheets, although the final amount may vary as negotiations continue. DeepSeek is also preparing for a potential initial public offering and plans to deploy at least 160,000 Huawei AI accelerators at a data center currently under construction in Inner Mongolia.

This fundraising effort occurs as OpenAI seeks to raise larger amounts for its AI infrastructure and operations. If completed as reported, this funding round would represent a substantial increase from OpenAI’s last valuation of $852 billion, highlighting the significant capital flowing into leading AI companies.

The surge in valuations is also seen with Anthropic, which reported nearly $4.6 billion in revenue in 2025 and plans for substantial future obligations.