DeepSeek nears $15 billion funding round to fuel AI race
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is closing a 100 billion yuan round, per Reuters sources. CATL and Tencent are the top investors, with a STAR Market IPO on the horizon.
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what happened
Chinese AI developer DeepSeek is wrapping up its latest funding round, having raised about 100 billion yuan (roughly $14.98 billion) from existing and new investors, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Battery maker CATL and WeChat operator Tencent Holdings were among the biggest investors. The round is expected to close in the coming days, but the financial details are not final and could still change, one of the sources said. Bloomberg earlier reported the raise at $15 billion. The original target was 50 billion yuan, so the round has doubled it.
In September, Reuters reported that DeepSeek had hired CITIC Securities to prepare a possible IPO on the STAR Market. Last month the company released its DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash model.
why it matters
The large round and a possible stock market debut show how China is investing to compete with the US in AI. For markets, it signals growing investor appetite for Chinese tech companies and a potential new listing on the STAR Market.
market impact
Chinese tech: large capital inflow supports the AI sector and related shares of Tencent and CATL
tags
instruments
sources
- DeepSeek wrapping up $15 billion fundraising to fuel AI race — Reuters, 22 October 2026 at 03:51 UTC
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