DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup that rattled global markets earlier this year, has already set sights on raising upwards of 10 billion yuan (about $1.5 billion) in a new funding round. This move comes barely a month after closing a historic $7.4 billion deal.
Rapid growth and investor backing
In June 2026, DeepSeek secured more than 50 billion yuan, equivalent to $7.4 billion, in its first external funding round. That funding valued the company between $52 billion and $59 billion post-money, instantly making it China’s top-valued AI lab. Big names like Tencent and CATL backed the deal, contributing roughly 10 billion yuan and 5 billion yuan respectively. However, founder Liang Wenfeng stood out with a personal investment of about 20 billion yuan channeled through a limited partnership that limits investors’ rights and locks funds for five years.
Now, the lab’s ambitious plans call for expanding computing power, enhancing data center infrastructure, and aggressively hiring talent to keep pace with AI development demands. This latest round targets a $71 billion valuation, reflecting a notable jump in less than two months.
While DeepSeek steers clear of crypto and blockchain, its trajectory reverberates across emerging decentralized compute projects like Render and Akash, challenging their growth narratives. The startup's impact was stark when its open-source model launch triggered a massive $ hundreds of billions market cap drop for Nvidia, marking the biggest single-day loss in US stock history. That shockwave even touched Bitcoin and tech-linked crypto assets.
This article is for informational purposes and not financial advice.
