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DeepSeek reportedly raises $15B days after US restrictions
AI2 min read
Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has reportedly raised about $15 billion, just two days after the U.S. told federal agencies to remove its AI technology over security concerns. The story is based on a Bloomberg report.
A big new funding round
Bloomberg reports that DeepSeek, a Chinese AI company based in Hangzhou, has raised about 100 billion yuan (roughly $15 billion). Possible investors include battery maker CATL and Tencent, the company behind WeChat. This comes only two days after the U.S. ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's AI technology from their systems.
Key numbers
- About $15 billion (about 100 billion yuan) in the reported new round
- More than $7 billion raised in June, at a $50 billion valuation
- In July, the company reportedly sought $1.5 billion at a valuation of about $71 billion
- Moonshot AI raised $2 billion at a $20 billion valuation in May
- Manus AI raised more than $500 million earlier this month
Who is DeepSeek?
DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng. He also co-founded High-Flyer, a Chinese hedge fund (a company that invests money using data and math models), which helped pay for DeepSeek's early work. In early 2025, DeepSeek drew worldwide attention with a free, open-weight reasoning model. Open-weight means the model's trained settings are shared publicly. Liang still holds an estimated 81.6% stake in the Chinese company, according to WireScreen, which analyzed ownership data.
Why it matters
The story shows how much money investors are putting into AI, even in China and even while DeepSeek faces limits in the U.S. Its growth could also make competition with other Chinese AI companies even stronger. The company may also seek an IPO (a first sale of shares to the public) in China as early as next year.
What to watch
- Whether DeepSeek confirms the funding round, since it did not reply to TechCrunch's request for comment
- Whether DeepSeek's plans for AI infrastructure and open models grow in China and abroad
- Whether DeepSeek moves ahead with a possible IPO in China as early as next year
- How U.S. restrictions on DeepSeek develop
Glossary
- DeepSeek
- A Chinese AI startup that builds AI models, some of which are free to use.
- CATL
- A Chinese company that makes batteries.
- Tencent
- A Chinese tech company that runs WeChat, a popular messaging app.
- open-weight
- A type of AI model whose trained settings are shared publicly so others can use them.
- High-Flyer
- A Chinese hedge fund that uses data and math models to invest money.
- IPO
- Initial public offering, when a company first sells shares to the public on a stock market.