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DeepSeek Pauses 10bn-Yuan Funding After US-China AI Warning

7/25/2026

Summary

Story summary

DeepSeek suspended its fundraising round after founder Liang Wenfeng’s remarks on the U.S.-China AI competition.
Liang told backers they would not sign agreements in days, prompting the pause.
The round closed in June 2026, raising $7 billion from investors like Tencent and CATL.
The follow-on round sought at least 10 billion yuan at a pre-money valuation of 480 billion yuan, lifting Liang’s net worth to $36 billion, highest for any AI model founder.

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Story summary

DeepSeek suspended its fundraising round after founder Liang Wenfeng’s remarks on the U.S.-China AI competition.
Liang told backers they would not sign agreements in days, prompting the pause.
The round closed in June 2026, raising $7 billion from investors like Tencent and CATL.
The follow-on round sought at least 10 billion yuan at a pre-money valuation of 480 billion yuan, lifting Liang’s net worth to $36 billion, highest for any AI model founder.