BEIJING, Oct. 7, 2026 | DeepSeek is raising at least 80 billion yuan, about US$12 billion, in a funding round backed by Tencent and battery maker CATL, according to a Bloomberg report published Oct. 6. The round could reach 100 billion yuan, Bloomberg says, after investor demand came in well above the 50 billion yuan the company first sought. DeepSeek, Tencent and CATL had not publicly confirmed the details at the time of reporting.
Who Is Backing DeepSeek's Funding Round
Tencent and CATL are among the largest contributors, per Bloomberg's report as relayed by Yahoo Finance. Bloomberg cited unnamed people familiar with the matter and did not name other new investors. The Next Web, citing earlier reporting, lists previous backers including founder Liang Wenfeng, JD.com, NetEase and China's national AI investment fund. Bloomberg says demand grew after the launch of DeepSeek's latest model.
The final valuation has not been reported, and negotiations are still ongoing, according to Nairametrics. Earlier press estimates of DeepSeek's valuation vary, so this story does not use one.
What Is Driving Investor Demand
DeepSeek became widely known in early 2025 with its open-source R1 model and released its V4 models in 2026. Bloomberg describes the V4 line as delivering performance comparable to OpenAI's and Anthropic's models at significantly lower operating costs. Emirates 24|7 reports DeepSeek recently launched V4.1-Flash and partnered with Huawei on programming tools for Huawei's Ascend AI chips, in China's push to reduce reliance on Nvidia.
The Next Web, citing Bloomberg, says DeepSeek plans to deploy at least 160,000 Huawei AI accelerators at a data center under construction in Inner Mongolia. DeepSeek began as a project of High-Flyer, the quantitative hedge fund founded by Liang.
IPO Preparations
Reuters reported last month that DeepSeek had secured CITIC Securities to prepare for a possible initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR Market. The timing, valuation and size of any listing have not been determined.
What This Means for the AI Industry
A raise of this size shows that capital for frontier AI labs is not limited to U.S. companies, and that Chinese strategic investors such as Tencent and CATL are willing to back a lab that competes on cost. For businesses that use or compare AI models, lower-priced Chinese models could keep pressure on pricing. Some buyers will still weigh data residency, regulatory and supply chain risk before adopting them. Until the round closes and is confirmed, the figures remain a report, not an announcement.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is DeepSeek raising?
DeepSeek is raising at least 80 billion yuan, about US$12 billion, and the round could reach 100 billion yuan, according to Bloomberg. The company initially sought 50 billion yuan. DeepSeek has not publicly confirmed the figures.
Who is investing in DeepSeek's round?
Tencent and CATL are among the largest contributors, per Bloomberg. Bloomberg cited unnamed sources and did not name other new investors, and none of the companies had confirmed the details at the time of reporting.
Is DeepSeek planning an IPO?
Reuters reported last month that DeepSeek had secured CITIC Securities to prepare a possible listing on Shanghai's STAR Market. The timing, valuation and scale have not been determined