DeepSeek Secures $15 Billion Amid U.S. Federal Pullback

Approximately $15 billion, equivalent to 100 billion yuan, has reportedly been secured by DeepSeek, marking one of the largest funding events in the history of Chinese technology. This significant capital injection was reported by Bloomberg and landed with particular timing, occurring just two days after the United States directed federal civilian agencies to eliminate DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence tools from their infrastructure due to security apprehensions.

The reported investor group for this round includes major Chinese industry players. Among them are CATL, a dominant force in battery manufacturing, and Tencent, the technology conglomerate that owns the messaging platform WeChat. Their participation signals a broad-based confidence in the startup's trajectory despite the recent diplomatic and regulatory friction with Washington.

This latest financial milestone follows a rapid series of funding activities for the company. In June, DeepSeek completed a round exceeding $7 billion, which valued the firm at $50 billion. Subsequently, in July, the startup was reportedly seeking an additional $1.5 billion at a valuation near $71 billion. Those earlier moves were accompanied by reported plans for a potential initial public offering in China as early as next year.

Headquartered in Hangzhou, DeepSeek is reportedly accelerating its expenditure on AI infrastructure and the development of open models. The company aims to serve both domestic and international markets, continuing its expansion even while navigating the new restrictions imposed by U.S. authorities. Analysts suggest that this aggressive scaling could further tighten the competitive landscape among domestic AI rivals in China.

The DeepSeek raise is part of a broader global trend where billions of dollars are flowing into artificial intelligence firms worldwide. In China specifically, investment activity has remained robust. Moonshot AI, the developer of the Kimi model, secured $2 billion in May at a $20 billion valuation. Earlier this month, Manus AI raised more than $500 million. Additionally, Zhipu AI and MiniMax, both of which listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in January, currently hold market capitalizations of roughly $29 billion and $7.2 billion, respectively.

The company was established in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who previously co-founded the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer. High-Flyer provided the initial financial backing for DeepSeek’s early development. The startup gained significant global recognition in early 2025 by releasing a free-to-use, open-weight reasoning model, a move that challenged the prevailing dominance of U.S.-based AI providers.

Corporate ownership data analyzed by WireScreen indicates that Liang Wenfeng retains an estimated 81.6% stake in the company’s Chinese operating entity following its previous funding rounds. This concentrated ownership structure suggests that the founder maintains substantial control over the firm’s strategic direction as it scales its operations.

As of today, DeepSeek has not issued an immediate response to requests for comment regarding the new funding round or the recent U.S. regulatory actions. The company’s next steps will likely focus on deploying the new capital toward infrastructure projects while it prepares for the possibility of a public listing in the Chinese market.