DeepSeek raised about 100 billion yuan ($15 billion) in a new funding round, Bloomberg reported on Oct. 22, citing people familiar with the matter. The financing, one of the largest in China’s history, will allow the startup to expand its computing infrastructure and AI models more aggressively as it competes with U.S. developers OpenAI and Anthropic.

The company is also preparing for a potential public listing, according to the report.

DeepSeek raised its funding target

DeepSeek increased the target size of the round at least twice during talks with investors, the people said. The company first raised it from 50 billion yuan ($7.5 billion) to 80 billion yuan ($12 billion), before increasing it to about 100 billion yuan ($15 billion).

Battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, or CATL, and Tencent Holdings, the owner of the WeChat messaging service, are among the largest participants in the financing, according to the report.

The round narrows the funding gap between DeepSeek and leading U.S. AI laboratories. However, OpenAI and Anthropic have each raised more than $100 billion, leaving DeepSeek behind them in available capital.

Bloomberg reported in July 2026 that DeepSeek was preparing for an initial public offering. Chinese rival Moonshot is also considering similar plans. A DeepSeek listing could become one of the most notable events in China’s stock market in recent years.

Low-cost models increase competition

DeepSeek is increasing investment in data centers and open models that can be used in China and overseas. The company has gained popularity with high-performance, relatively low-cost models that are putting pricing pressure on competitors.

In August, DeepSeek announced a “significant” increase in its application programming interface prices as it prepared for a potential IPO.

The startup introduced its V4.1 Flash model in September. Shares of Chinese competitors MiniMax Group and Z.AI fell after the launch.

Other large technology companies, including Alibaba and ByteDance, are developing low-cost AI services. Many are open source and allow users to adapt them to their own requirements.

An Artificial Analysis benchmark chart illustrated the scale of the competition by describing a “DeepSeek death zone,” where rivals could struggle to remain in the market unless they offer better performance or lower prices.

Earlier financing and valuation

Media reports in May said DeepSeek’s valuation had approached $45 billion amid interest from the state-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, known as the “Big Fund.” The company raised $7.4 billion in June at a valuation of about $50 billion.

After that round, founder Liang Wenfeng became the wealthiest entrepreneur among AI model creators, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with an estimated fortune of about $36 billion.

Source: Incrypted