DeepSeek Raises About $15 Billion, With CATL and Tencent Among Biggest Investors

What happened

On October 22, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Hangzhou-based DeepSeek closed a new funding round of about 100 billion yuan, which Bloomberg described as one of the largest financings ever in China. The company raised its financing target at least twice during talks with investors, from 50 billion yuan to 80 billion yuan, and finally to about 100 billion yuan.

Battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and WeChat operator Tencent Holdings were among the biggest investors in the round. Reuters carried Bloomberg's report the same day, saying it could not immediately verify the details; Bloomberg's report rests on unnamed people familiar with the matter, as the talks were not public.

Key facts

1. Size: : about 100 billion yuan, or about $14.98 billion (Reuters converts at 1 USD = 6.6749 yuan)
2. Biggest investors: : CATL and Tencent were among the largest investors in the round
3. Raised target: : the fundraising target was lifted at least twice during talks, from 50 billion yuan to 80 billion yuan and then to about 100 billion yuan
4. Earlier reports: : Bloomberg reported in early October the round was at least 80 billion yuan; Reuters reported in September that DeepSeek had hired CITIC Securities to prepare a STAR Market listing; The Information reported in September that annualized revenue was about $1 billion