DeepSeek’s Big Money Move: China’s AI Startup Seeks $7. 4 Billion

DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial‑intelligence firm known for its V3 and R1 models, plans to raise about $7. 4 billion in its first round of external funding. The deal could value the company at up to $59 billion, putting it among China’s biggest tech financings. The startup has grown without outside capital until now, but it is turning to investors such as Tencent and battery maker CATL. Founder Liang Wenfeng is expected to put in roughly 40 % of the money, about 20 billion yuan. Investors in this round are hoping to back a company that is moving beyond simple chatbots toward more advanced AI agents. These systems need huge amounts of computing power, so companies must secure new capital to buy chips, build data centers, and pay for energy.DeepSeek has already shown its ambitions by unveiling a new V4 model in April, which it claims is a major step for open‑source AI. Independent tests say the model still lags behind top competitors in China and the U. S. , but it remains one of the strongest open‑source offerings. The funding effort reflects China’s push for AI self‑sufficiency amid U. S. export restrictions. CATL, a global battery leader, sees AI workloads as a chance to expand into data‑center power solutions. Tencent’s involvement could help the company keep pace with domestic rivals like ByteDance’s Doubao and strengthen its own AI platform.