HANGZHOU, Oct 7 — According to Bloomberg sources, Chinese large language model firm DeepSeek is close to finalising a new financing round with a minimum fundraising size of RMB 80 billion. Based on signed term sheets, the total deal value may reach nearly RMB 100 billion, far exceeding the original target of RMB 50 billion.
Industry investors dominate this round. CATL and Tencent Holdings are the two largest committed backers. The transaction is nearing completion, though definitive agreements have not been executed and terms remain subject to change.
The target valuation for this round stands at RMB 500 billion. Proceeds will fund computing infrastructure, frontier model research and global competition, while paving the way for its IPO. DeepSeek has engaged CITIC Securities for its STAR Market listing preparation, aiming to kick off IPO procedures within this year and seek a listing in early 2027.
On the talent front, Wentao Yan, former partner at Hillhouse Venture Capital, joined DeepSeek as CFO at end of September to accelerate capital market work. Industry observers say the over-subscribed round demonstrates strong industrial capital confidence in China’s foundational AI sector. The massive capital injection will support DeepSeek’s expansion of computing resources to compete with global players such as OpenAI and Anthropic, yet it also raises the bar for the firm’s long-term commercialisation.