DeepSeek Eyes $50B Valuation in First-Ever Fundraise
Chinese AI darling DeepSeek is reportedly raising up to $4B led by China's national AI fund in its maiden round.
DeepSeek is finally passing the hat. The Chinese LLM builder is in talks to raise between $3 billion and $4 billion in what would be its first external fundraising round, according to Reuters citing three sources familiar with the matter.
China's national AI fund is leading the deal, which could value the startup at up to $50 billion. That's a staggering number for a company that has never taken outside money before.
DeepSeek shook up the global AI landscape with its efficient, high-performing large language models that challenged assumptions about how much compute you actually need. Now it's looking to capitalize on that momentum with serious capital to fuel its next phase.
A $50B valuation would place DeepSeek among the most valuable AI companies on the planet — and firmly establish it as China's flagship challenger in the global AI race.