DeepSeek Nears at Least $12 Billion in New Funding, With CATL and Tencent as Top Backers

DeepSeek is close to raising at least $12 billion in a new funding round, Bloomberg reported on October 6, 2026, with battery maker CATL and Tencent among the largest contributors. CNBC reported later the same day that the Chinese AI startup is considering expanding the round to as much as 100 billion yuan ($14.9 billion), double its original target.

DeepSeek only started taking outside money in 2026, and this second funding round is meant to carry the company toward a stock market listing planned for early 2027 (Bloomberg via The Decoder). None of the companies involved has confirmed the numbers.

How much is DeepSeek raising, and from whom?

DeepSeek is close to securing at least 80 billion yuan, or about $12 billion, Bloomberg reported on October 6, 2026, and people familiar with the talks told CNBC the total could reach 100 billion yuan ($14.9 billion). The company first set a target of 50 billion yuan for this round, according to CNBC, which The Decoder puts at about $7.5 billion.

Bloomberg named CATL, the Chinese battery maker, and Tencent as the largest contributors. CNBC's reporting adds other names: one person told the outlet that CATL, Geely Auto and the investment managers Monolith Management and Loyal Valley Capital have committed capital.

According to CNBC's two sources, state-backed funds, investment arms of listed Chinese companies and venture capital firms have all shown strong interest. DeepSeek is screening them closely, the people said, turning away private funds raised from individual investors and keeping the round largely to government and corporate money.

The process has run longer than planned. CNBC reported that the round was first expected to close by the end of August, but some prospective investors hesitated over the price; the people said talks are nearing the end and that the amount could still change.

What valuation is DeepSeek seeking?

DeepSeek is seeking a valuation of about 500 billion yuan, or $75 billion, in the current round, people familiar with the matter told CNBC. That would be a clear step up from the company's first outside round, which closed in June 2026.

The outlets describe that June round differently. CNBC's sources put it at about 50 billion yuan, with an investor filing implying a valuation of roughly 350 billion yuan. Reuters reported in July that it raised about $7.4 billion at a post money valuation of about 450 billion yuan, and that founder Liang Wenfeng put in 20 billion yuan himself, with Tencent and CATL adding 10 billion and 5 billion yuan (Reuters via Mezha).

Why are investors lining up now?

The Decoder, summarizing Bloomberg's report, ties the strong demand to DeepSeek's V4-Flash model and its cost and performance compared with models from OpenAI and Anthropic. DeepSeek released V4-Pro and V4-Flash as previews in April, and CNBC reports that its latest model, V4.1 Flash, came out in September with what the company describes as more capability and faster inference.

The money is also meant for computing power, which The Decoder says centers on Huawei hardware and an in house inference chip rather than Nvidia.

The round has not been smooth. Talks were briefly suspended after Liang reportedly told a private investor meeting that Chinese AI companies still lag far behind their US rivals and rely heavily on Nvidia chips, CNBC reported. DeepSeek first drew global attention in January 2025, when its low cost models set off a sell-off in US tech stocks.

When could DeepSeek go public?

DeepSeek plans to restructure for an initial public offering in early 2027 once the current round closes (Bloomberg via The Decoder). The company has hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a possible listing on Shanghai's STAR Market (Reuters via CNBC), the Shanghai Stock Exchange board for technology companies.

Liang told investors at a private meeting in July that he puts pushing the technology toward artificial general intelligence ahead of maximizing profit, according to CNBC.

DeepSeek is not the only Chinese AI lab heading for the market: domestic rival Moonshot AI is also targeting an IPO in early 2027 after raising money at a $50 billion valuation (Bloomberg via CNBC).

What we don't know yet

• The final size of the round and the valuation it closes at; CNBC's sources say both could still change.
• The full list of investors and the size of each stake, including how much Tencent and CATL put in this time.
• Which of the reported figures for the June round is right: CNBC's and Reuters' amounts and valuations differ.
• Which exchange DeepSeek will list on, on what timeline, and whether Chinese regulators will approve the listing.