DeepSeek in talks for $1.5B round at $71B valuation

The Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is reportedly in preliminary talks for a new funding round that would value the company at approximately $71 billion, according to financial news reports. This development comes just weeks after the company completed its first-ever external fundraising, highlighting the intense capital demands and investor appetite in the global AI race.

The company, founded in 2023, had historically operated without outside investment. That changed in mid-June 2026, when it raised over $7.4 billion at a post-money valuation of around $52 billion. Investors in that round included Chinese technology giant Tencent and battery manufacturer CATL, with founder Liang Wenfeng also making a significant personal investment. The new funding round under discussion would represent a roughly 42 percent premium over that recent valuation, with the company seeking to raise around $1.5 billion.

DeepSeek first gained international prominence in early 2025 with the release of its open-source R1 model, which was reported to rival the performance of leading U.S. models while being offered for free. The company's strategy of releasing powerful, cost-effective...