DeepSeek’s fundraising target jumped from 50 billion yuan to 100 billion yuan in just half a month: money isn’t the problem now—the problem is securing an allocation.
On October 22, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that DeepSeek had completed a new round of financing worth about 100 billion yuan (approximately US$15 billion), making it one of the largest fundraising deals in Chinese history. The round was led by CATL and Tencent. CATL is reportedly planning to invest about 10 billion yuan—double its roughly 5 billion yuan investment in the first round—and Tencent also invested about 10 billion yuan. New investors include industrial capital from Geely, SMIC Juyuan (affiliated with SMIC), and Stone Capital (affiliated with GigaDevice), among others.
The pace is even more astonishing than the amount: less than a month after the first round of 51 billion yuan closed in June, the company launched a second round in July. Its target rose from 50 billion yuan to 80 billion yuan, then was set at 100 billion yuan. It doubled in less than half a month, while the pre-money valuation remained unchanged at 500 billion yuan—meaning investors are scrambling to get in, even at higher prices. The confidence comes from commercial results: its annualized revenue run rate has surpassed US$1 billion, more than double the less-than-US$500 million it was just a few months ago. In August, API prices were raised by 2.3 to 4.5 times without losing customers, and its API gross margin was still as high as 82.9% after seven months.
My take: The most interesting thing about this round isn’t the amount itself, but the oversubscription. In the end, the AI race comes down to who has the staying power to fund it. DeepSeek has taken “low cost” to the extreme, turning value for money into its most formidable moat. With the funding in place, the next thing to watch is a STAR Market IPO: CITIC Securities has reportedly been appointed to prepare for it, with a prospectus planned for submission by the end of 2026. Will a 500-billion-yuan valuation prove to be a starting point or a peak? The prospectus will provide the first public answer.
Data as of: 2026-10-22 14:30 UTC
Sources: Tencent News roundup of Bloomberg reports; cross-checked by HK01/Bloomberg (reposted report’s original accompanying image; source noted)
For informational purposes only; not investment advice.
#DeepSeek100BillionFinancing
In this AI money-burning race, how far can an approach like DeepSeek’s—“affordable yet powerful”—go? I’ll keep following major tech developments like this. Follow me so you don’t miss out.
On October 22, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that DeepSeek had completed a new round of financing worth about 100 billion yuan (approximately US$15 billion), making it one of the largest fundraising deals in Chinese history. The round was led by CATL and Tencent. CATL is reportedly planning to invest about 10 billion yuan—double its roughly 5 billion yuan investment in the first round—and Tencent also invested about 10 billion yuan. New investors include industrial capital from Geely, SMIC Juyuan (affiliated with SMIC), and Stone Capital (affiliated with GigaDevice), among others.
The pace is even more astonishing than the amount: less than a month after the first round of 51 billion yuan closed in June, the company launched a second round in July. Its target rose from 50 billion yuan to 80 billion yuan, then was set at 100 billion yuan. It doubled in less than half a month, while the pre-money valuation remained unchanged at 500 billion yuan—meaning investors are scrambling to get in, even at higher prices. The confidence comes from commercial results: its annualized revenue run rate has surpassed US$1 billion, more than double the less-than-US$500 million it was just a few months ago. In August, API prices were raised by 2.3 to 4.5 times without losing customers, and its API gross margin was still as high as 82.9% after seven months.
My take: The most interesting thing about this round isn’t the amount itself, but the oversubscription. In the end, the AI race comes down to who has the staying power to fund it. DeepSeek has taken “low cost” to the extreme, turning value for money into its most formidable moat. With the funding in place, the next thing to watch is a STAR Market IPO: CITIC Securities has reportedly been appointed to prepare for it, with a prospectus planned for submission by the end of 2026. Will a 500-billion-yuan valuation prove to be a starting point or a peak? The prospectus will provide the first public answer.
Data as of: 2026-10-22 14:30 UTC
Sources: Tencent News roundup of Bloomberg reports; cross-checked by HK01/Bloomberg (reposted report’s original accompanying image; source noted)
For informational purposes only; not investment advice.
#DeepSeek100BillionFinancing
In this AI money-burning race, how far can an approach like DeepSeek’s—“affordable yet powerful”—go? I’ll keep following major tech developments like this. Follow me so you don’t miss out.