❯ Hillhouse VC partner Yan Wentao may become DeepSeek’s first CFO, after months of jostling for the role

The name surfacesHillhouse VC partner Yan Wentao may join DeepSeek as chief financial officer, a role that is not yet fully filled and on which DeepSeek has not commented, according to multiple media reports. Yan was born in 1991 and graduated from Fudan University.

Résumé and contestHe previously worked at Tencent Investment and H Capital from 2013 to 2020, joined Hillhouse VC in 2020, and has backed MiniMax, Zhipu AI, ByteDance and J&T Express. Reports say heads of several leading firms also discussed the role with Liang Wenfeng, who favors a post-1990 hire.

Why nowDeepSeek began recruiting a CFO publicly in February 2025 and still listed finance roles in June. It raised about RMB 50 billion in a first round this year, and a second round is near closing at a valuation of roughly RMB 500 billion. Only once the CFO is in place will the next round and any listing have a specific operator.

▪ SIGNALA company valued at RMB 500 billion filling its finance seat usually means capital moves are on a schedule.