❯ DeepSeek nears a funding round of at least RMB 80 billion, with Tencent and CATL the largest contributors

Above the original targetAccording to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, as relayed by The Next Web, DeepSeek is close to securing at least RMB 80 billion (about $12 billion) in a funding round, with Tencent and battery maker CATL the two largest contributors. It originally sought about RMB 50 billion, and based on term sheets already signed, the final total could approach RMB 100 billion.

A lab that came out of a quant fundDeepSeek develops large language models and originated from High-Flyer, founder Liang Wenfeng’s quantitative hedge fund. Its open-source R1 model, released in early 2025, brought it global attention, and it launched the V4 series this year. The report says investor interest exceeded expectations after the reception of its latest model.

The second large raise this yearEarlier this year DeepSeek raised about RMB 50 billion at a valuation of $52 billion to $59 billion, including about RMB 20 billion from Liang himself, about RMB 10 billion from Tencent and about RMB 5 billion from CATL, with JD.com, NetEase and China’s national AI investment fund also taking part. Bloomberg says this round prepares for a listing planned for early 2027. DeepSeek has hired CITIC Securities to prepare a possible Shanghai STAR Market listing, with timing, valuation and size not yet determined.

Why Tencent is adding moreThe Next Web’s reading is that a closer tie to DeepSeek helps Tencent keep up with domestic competitors. Tencent builds its own models and is still a main contributor to both DeepSeek rounds, which suggests it values continued access to the strongest domestic model over necessarily building it in-house.

▮ SIGNALA leading Chinese lab raising tens of billions of yuan twice in a year, mainly from industrial companies and not financial investors, shows the backers are buying model supply as well as equity returns.