DeepSeek Completes First Funding Round of Over 50 Billion Yuan, Valuation Exceeds 50 Billion USD, Special Structure Ensures Control

According to The Information and multiple media reports, Chinese AI company DeepSeek has completed its first external funding round, raising over 50 billion yuan (approximately 7.4 billion USD) at a valuation exceeding 50 billion USD (approximately 338 billion yuan), setting a new record for a single funding round in China's AI industry.

Special Transaction Structure

This funding round adopts an unusual structure: most investors must contribute capital to a limited partnership managed by DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng, rather than directly into DeepSeek, thereby ensuring Liang's absolute control. All external investors' shares are locked for five years, during which they cannot be sold. The only exception is the National AI Industry Investment Fund, which directly invests 1 billion yuan in DeepSeek, is not subject to the lock-up period, and enjoys voting rights. Other external investors have no voting rights but receive privileged financial information and preemptive rights in future funding rounds.

Major Investors

• Liang Wenfeng personally contributes 20 billion yuan, making him the largest investor.
• Tencent invests 10 billion yuan.
• CATL invests 5 billion yuan.
• JD.com, NetEase, and IDG Capital each invest 3 billion yuan.

Background and Impact

Since its founding in 2023, DeepSeek had long relied on profits from its parent company, High-Flyer Quant, maintaining a "zero financing" model. In early 2025, after its R1 model went viral globally, rising computing costs and intensified competition for top talent prompted the company to seek external funding. This round aims to reserve resources for the next phase of model training, inference services, productization, and talent competition.

Reactions

• Liang Wenfeng firmly believes AI should be open-source and is very cautious in selecting financial partners; the five-year lock-up is used to screen for long-term investors.
• The team requires verification of the identities of all limited partners behind participating funds to avoid the risk of shares falling into unknown investors' hands.
• Following the announcement, the industry is watching how DeepSeek can maintain its technological idealism while securing resources to compete in the global AI race.