Story perspectives

DeepSeek raises up to 100 billion yuan before IPO

By Drooid · Oct 6, 2026, 3:37 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

DeepSeek Raises Billions

DeepSeek AI startup is raising at least 80 billion yuan ($11.93 billion) ahead of a domestic IPO.
Strong investor demand could increase the round to 100 billion yuan ($14.91 billion).
Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL are among the largest investors.
DeepSeek released the V4.1-Flash model in September, prompting the fundraising surge.
The startup partnered with Huawei to develop programming tools for Ascend AI chips.

Summary

DeepSeek Faces US Scrutiny

DeepSeek’s V4.1-Flash model costs about $0.27 per task, far cheaper than U.S. rivals.
The model scores 39 points on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, trailing top open-weight models.
Open-weight Chinese models, including DeepSeek’s, are gaining traction on OpenRouter and Vercel platforms.
U.S. officials accuse DeepSeek and Moonshot of using American model outputs to speed development.
Retail sentiment for OpenAI and Anthropic stays neutral, with valuations near $953.8 billion and $1.32 trillion.

History

Historical Context

China announced its New Generation AI Development Plan in 2017, adding to the more than 30 nations that adopted AI strategies between 2016 and 2020. The plan mirrors the post-2012 deep-learning boom that lifted global AI investment, while the United States still holds about 35 % more patents per AI-applicant company than China, underscoring the competitive drive behind DeepSeek’s recent capital raise.

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DeepSeek Raises Billions

DeepSeek AI startup is raising at least 80 billion yuan ($11.93 billion) ahead of a domestic IPO.
Strong investor demand could increase the round to 100 billion yuan ($14.91 billion).
Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL are among the largest investors.
DeepSeek released the V4.1-Flash model in September, prompting the fundraising surge.
The startup partnered with Huawei to develop programming tools for Ascend AI chips.

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