大模型网摘DeepSeek Closes Reported $15B Round with CATL and Tencent on Board, IPO Plans Advance
Even as US federal restrictions keep making headlines, DeepSeek's fundraising has just crossed a major milestone. According to Bloomberg's October 22 report, DeepSeek has closed a new round of about $15 billion (roughly 100 billion yuan) — one of the largest private AI financings in China this year — with battery maker CATL and Tencent listed among the potential backers. Notably, the news broke just two days after US federal civilian agencies were ordered to remove DeepSeek products, a juxtaposition analysts were quick to read into.
The funding arc: valuation triples in half a year
The timeline shows this round was hardly a surprise. In June, DeepSeek raised more than $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation; in July, it reportedly sought an additional $1.5 billion at around $71 billion; and by late October, the ~$15 billion round had landed. Bloomberg also reports the company is planning a China IPO as early as next year. We covered the earlier stages in our 100-billion-yuan round report; this piece follows through on the third step.
Where the money goes: infrastructure and open models
According to the report, proceeds will fund AI infrastructure and open-model development for both domestic and international markets. That squares with recent moves: in late October, DeepSeek open-sourced DeepInfer, its production-grade inference framework (see our DeepInfer coverage), and the nearly five-hour outage on October 15 (see our outage recap) hinted at just how much strain surging usage puts on capacity and reliability. On the model side, V4.1-Flash-1017 and V4-Pro-0813 continue to iterate.
How peers compare: China's AI capital race
For context: Moonshot AI (the Kimi developer) raised $2 billion at a $20 billion valuation in May; Manus AI closed over $500 million in early October; and Zhipu (Z.ai) and MiniMax went public in Hong Kong in January. A single $15 billion round puts DeepSeek at the front of the Chinese AI pack — and signals the domestic model arms race is nowhere near its endgame.
What it means for everyday users
In the short term, nothing changes about how models and APIs work: the current model lineup, pricing and endpoints operate as usual. The IPO process is what to watch — if a listing happens next year, it would be a landmark event for Chinese AI companies and would bring governance and financial disclosure into public view. No prospectus has been filed as of press time; we will keep tracking. For background, see our full breakdown of the US DHS exclusion order.