DeepSeek’s first round of funding reportedly totals about $7.4 billion: its valuation rises to $59 billion, completed within two weeks, and details of Tencent and CATL’s proposed investment amounts are disclosed

According to Reuters, citing sources familiar with the matter, the first-round funding amount for Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has been set at about RMB 50 billion (about USD 7.4 billion), compared with the USD 10 billion rumor reported in late May, which has since been adjusted. The post-investment valuation is expected to be between RMB 350 billion and RMB 400 billion (about USD 52 billion to USD 59 billion), and the valuation cap has been further raised from the rumored USD 55 billion at the end of May.

In terms of the specific capital structure, the financing shows clear characteristics of the founder’s absolute dominance. DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng has pledged a personal contribution of RMB 20 billion, accounting for 40% of the total funding, to ensure that the founding team has absolute control over the company. Meanwhile, the investment amounts from Tencent and Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) have been disclosed for the first time. Tencent is considering investing RMB 10 billion, while CATL is interested in investing RMB 50 billion, and the two companies are expected to become the largest external investors in the round.

There had previously been reports that the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund would lead the investment, but with the confirmation of the founder’s large personal contribution, the national fund has stepped back and will serve as a regular participating external institution instead. DeepSeek is also in final negotiations with NetEase and JD.com regarding their participation, and the total number of participating parties is expected to be fewer than 10.

The current round of funding is expected to be completed within the next two weeks. In addition to the participating investors already disclosed, IDG Capital and Monolith Capital, both headquartered in Hong Kong, have also entered the list of potential investors. As of now, DeepSeek has not issued any statement regarding plans for a future initial public offering (IPO).