DeepSeek round reportedly doubles to ¥100B at ~¥500B pre-money valuation
Multiple Chinese outlets, citing unnamed people involved in the deal, report that DeepSeek's second funding round has grown from a planned ¥50 billion to about ¥100 billion, split roughly evenly between new and existing shareholders, with the pre-money valuation unchanged at around ¥500 billion. The reported new investors are mostly industrial players — Stone Capital, SMIC Capital, CPE, Legend Capital and Geely — while first-round backers CATL, Tencent, IDG Capital and others are said to be participating again, with CATL adding about ¥10 billion. CNBC's sources put the possible size as high as $15 billion, and reports also say DeepSeek has hired CITIC Securities to prepare a STAR Market listing, potentially filing as early as late 2026.
If completed, it would rank among the largest private rounds raised by any AI company and shows Chinese model developers can still attract deep industrial capital ahead of a possible listing.