Chinese AI Giant Scores Huge Fund Raise After US Pullback

Global tech markets are shifting rapidly. This week brought a significant development in that race.

The Hangzhou-based AI firm DeepSeek reportedly raised about $15 billion. This amount equates to roughly 100 billion yuan. It stands as one of the largest funding rounds in China to date. Bloomberg reported these figures. The news broke just two days after a specific U.S. directive. Washington ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek’s technology from their systems. Cited security concerns drove this decision.

Several major players are reportedly involved in this investment. CATL, a prominent Chinese battery manufacturer, is among the potential investors. Tencent, the company behind the WeChat messaging app, is also in the mix. Other unnamed entities may be participating in the deal as well.

This new capital follows a busy summer for the startup. In June, DeepSeek closed a round of more than $7 billion. That transaction valued the company at $50 billion. By July, reports indicated the firm was seeking an additional $1.5 billion. The target valuation for that round was around $71 billion. The company has also discussed plans for a potential IPO in China as early as next year.

DeepSeek is using the new funds to expand its operations. The startup is increasing spending on AI infrastructure. It is also developing open models for both domestic and international markets. This growth continues despite the recent restrictions in the U.S. The expansion is expected to intensify competition among its domestic rivals.

This deal highlights a broader trend in global finance. Investors are pouring billions into AI companies worldwide. The goal is to compete in the global AI race. Chinese firms are seeing significant attention. Moonshot AI, the developer of Kimi, secured $2 billion in May. That round valued the company at $20 billion. Earlier this month, Manus AI raised more than $500 million.

Public markets are also reflecting this interest. Two other Chinese AI companies, Zhipu AI and MiniMax, went public in Hong Kong in January. As of today, Zhipu AI has a market capitalization of roughly $29 billion. MiniMax sits at approximately $7.2 billion. These figures show sustained investor confidence in the sector.

DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng. He previously co-founded the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer. That fund helped finance DeepSeek’s early development. The startup gained global attention in early 2025. Its free-to-use, open-weight reasoning model challenged the dominance of U.S. AI companies. Liang retains an estimated 81.6% stake in the Chinese operating entity. This is based on ownership data analyzed by WireScreen. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The company now faces a complex landscape. It has ample capital to build out its infrastructure. However, it must navigate the U.S. government’s security concerns. The next months will likely see increased activity as DeepSeek deploys its new resources.