DeepSeek has raised about $15 billion in its latest funding round, with Tencent and CATL as its main backers, Bloomberg reported on October 22, citing people familiar with the matter. DeepSeek has not confirmed the figures.
Reuters followed with its own account later on October 22. Two people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters that DeepSeek is wrapping up the round after raising about 100 billion yuan (about $14.98 billion) from existing and new investors. One of the two said CATL and Tencent were among the biggest investors. The other said the round is set to be completed in the coming days, but that the financial details are not final and could still change. Both asked not to be named.
According to Reuters, the total would be double the original target of 50 billion yuan. Reuters reported in September that DeepSeek had hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a potential listing on Shanghai's STAR Market.
DeepSeek, CATL and Tencent could not be immediately reached for comment, Reuters said. No statement from DeepSeek had appeared on its official channels as of 12:45 Beijing time on October 22.
For DeepSeek's latest model, see our DeepSeek V4.1 Flash 1017 benchmark roundup. The company also faces pressure in the US, including the ban on DeepSeek across US federal agencies. For the scale of recent fundraising at US labs, see our report on OpenAI's $30 billion funding and Anthropic's IPO plans.