Open source + low cost has already shaken up the global AI landscape. Now that external capital is being introduced, could the next step be an independent IPO? This move is quite bold.

ME News message: On April 17 (UTC+8), the Chinese AI company DeepSeek is preparing its first external funding round, targeting a valuation of more than $10 billion, signaling a shift from its earlier relatively “self-developed-driven” model to introducing external capital. Reports say this round will be DeepSeek’s first large-scale external fundraising since its founding. Previously, the company mainly relied on resources from its parent company’s ecosystem to grow; its valuation was estimated at around $3.4 billion in 2025. If this financing is completed, its valuation would jump by several times. In recent years, DeepSeek has risen rapidly thanks to low-cost, high-performance open-source large models. Its model training costs are significantly lower than mainstream industry levels, and its performance benchmarks are on par with leading U.S. models, which has already disrupted the global AI competitive landscape. Market analysts believe this move means DeepSeek is accelerating commercialization and full