DeepSeek bags ~$15B as CATL and Tencent bet on China's AI champ

DeepSeek has raised about 100 billion yuan (~$15B), according to Bloomberg, which cites people familiar with the deal. Battery giant CATL and Tencent are among the largest investors. The Hangzhou lab kept raising its target as the round filled up, from 50B yuan to 80B yuan, before ending near 100B. Semafor calls it one of China's biggest financing rounds ever. DeepSeek, Tencent and CATL did not respond to requests for comment, and no valuation has been disclosed.

The money funds a costlier phase for the company. DeepSeek has been spending more on AI data centres and on new open-source models for users in China and abroad. Analysts quoted by Semafor say the round sets up an imminent IPO, and Bloomberg has reported that listing preparations are under way. Rival Moonshot is also heading toward a listing.

The gap with the US is still large. OpenAI and Anthropic have each raised more than $100B, so DeepSeek is still working with a fraction of their resources. Scrutiny is also growing: several governments, including US agencies, have banned its apps from official devices.

Why it matters: the lab that shocked markets by doing more with less now has serious money, and China's biggest companies are backing it as the national frontier player.