DeepSeek Closes Nearly $16B Second Round at About $74B Pre-Money Valuation

What happened

The Information reported on Oct 30 that Chinese AI company DeepSeek has closed a second funding round of about 100 billion yuan (nearly $16 billion), more than doubling its original 50 billion yuan target, at a pre-money valuation of about 500 billion yuan (roughly $74 billion), flat with its summer round.

More than 15 investors took part: existing shareholders Tencent and CATL were among the biggest investors, with CATL adding about 10 billion yuan on top of a previous ticket of about 5 billion yuan. Other participants included GigaDevice, Meituan, Geely, Midea, NetEase, Boyu Capital, CPE, Legend Capital and IDG Capital.

The Information described the round as one of the biggest-ever fundraising deals in China's AI sector, with a cap table that includes some of the country's most powerful state-backed institutions. It is DeepSeek's second round this year, after a roughly $7.4 billion round in June at a pre-money valuation of about $50 billion.

Key facts

Round size: about 100 billion yuan (nearly $16 billion), against an original target of 50 billion yuan.

Pre-money valuation: about 500 billion yuan (roughly $74 billion), flat with the summer round.

Biggest investors: Tencent and CATL, both existing shareholders; CATL added about 10 billion yuan this round after a previous investment of about 5 billion yuan.

Participants: more than 15 investors, including GigaDevice, Meituan, Geely, Midea, NetEase, Boyu Capital, CPE, Legend Capital and IDG Capital.

2026 total: the round lifts DeepSeek's 2026 fundraising above $22 billion; the June round was about $7.4 billion at a pre-money valuation of about $50 billion.

Sourcing: all figures above are as reported by The Information; DeepSeek has not publicly confirmed the round's details.