Chinese AI company DeepSeek has raised about $15 billion in a new funding round, Bloomberg reported Thursday, in one of the largest private financing deals in China’s technology sector this year. The raise lands just two days after the United States ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek’s products from their systems over national security concerns.
DeepSeek has not confirmed the funding. The company did not respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch, which first relayed Bloomberg’s reporting. The figures below come from Bloomberg’s account as carried by TechCrunch and corroborated independently by Yahoo Finance and other outlets, which separately named several of the same investors.
According to Bloomberg, DeepSeek raised roughly 100 billion yuan, about $15 billion, after investor demand pushed the company to raise its target twice during negotiations. The round reportedly started at a goal of 50 billion yuan and climbed to 80 billion yuan before settling near 100 billion yuan. Bloomberg put the company’s pre-money valuation at roughly 500 billion yuan, in the neighborhood of $70 billion, with other reports putting it closer to $74 billion.
Who is DeepSeek
DeepSeek became a household name in global tech in January 2025, when it released R1, a reasoning AI model it said cost under $6 million and two months to build. The release triggered a sharp sell-off in US AI and chip stocks, with Nvidia losing about $589 billion in market value in a single session as investors questioned how much Silicon Valley firms needed to spend to stay ahead. The company has continued releasing new models since, including the V4 flagship referenced in its current API pricing.
Who is investing
Tencent Holdings and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) are named as investors across multiple reports, alongside automaker Geely. Individual outlets also named additional backers from a reported group of more than 15 investors, including Midea, Meituan and the chipmaker GigaDevice. Praman News has not independently verified the full investor list and is reporting only the names that appear consistently across more than one source.
Why the timing matters
The funding news comes two days after the US Department of Homeland Security ordered federal civilian agencies, including the Treasury, State and Justice departments, to stop buying DeepSeek products and remove existing ones from government systems. The Department of Defense was excluded from the order, which was published in the Federal Register on October 20 under the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018.
DHS said DeepSeek’s handling of user data could expose sensitive information to Chinese authorities under Chinese law, and that the company’s models present security risks through account creation and user tracking. China’s foreign ministry pushed back, with spokesperson Mao Ning saying Beijing opposes what she called the “politicizing” of technology and trade issues.
That a Chinese funding round of this size would land this close to a US federal ban underlines how DeepSeek keeps operating on two separate tracks: shut out of parts of the US government market, while still drawing major domestic capital for its race against OpenAI and Anthropic.
The numbers at a glance
| Detail | Reported figure |
|---|---|
| Amount raised | ~100 billion yuan (~$15 billion) |
| Initial target | 50 billion yuan |
| Revised target before close | 80 billion yuan |
| Pre-money valuation | ~500 billion yuan (~$70 billion) |
| Reported investor count | 15+ |
Revenue and business model
DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng told investors in September that the company’s annualized revenue run rate had reached $1 billion, more than double the $400 million to $500 million figure reported in July, according to reporting from PYMNTS. Revenue is driven largely by cloud-based API access to DeepSeek’s models, where the company has reported gross margins of 70% to 80% on access to its flagship V4 model.
DeepSeek introduced peak-hour pricing in August that raised API rates roughly fourfold during high-demand periods, while reportedly remaining cheaper than equivalent offerings from US competitors. On infrastructure, the company is said to be expanding domestic computing capacity to cut its reliance on foreign chips, continuing to use Nvidia processors for complex training work while shifting some workloads onto Huawei-made chips.
What’s next: a possible Shanghai listing
DeepSeek has reportedly engaged CITIC Securities to prepare for a listing on Shanghai’s STAR Market, a board for technology companies, with some reports putting an early 2027 target. No timeline has been officially confirmed. If the listing goes ahead on that schedule, it could put DeepSeek on public markets before OpenAI or its Chinese rival Moonshot AI, both of which remain privately held. The company also recruited Yan Wentao as chief financial officer in September, a hire typically associated with IPO preparation.
Frequently asked questions
Has DeepSeek confirmed the $15 billion raise?
No. The company did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment. The figures come from Bloomberg’s reporting, corroborated in part by other outlets naming the same lead investors.
Why did the US restrict DeepSeek?
The Department of Homeland Security cited national security concerns over how DeepSeek handles US government user data and potential exposure to Chinese authorities under Chinese law, ordering federal civilian agencies to remove its products on October 20.
What to watch next: whether DeepSeek or any named investor confirms the round on the record, and whether the reported Shanghai STAR Market listing moves forward.
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