DeepSeek reportedly pursued a major fundraising plan in April and drew interest from Tencent and Alibaba. National Business Daily cited a market source on May 9 as saying Alibaba likely did not conduct negotiations, adding nuance to earlier reports that DeepSeek and Alibaba had failed to agree on financing terms. Earlier reporting also said Tencent was considering buying as much as a 20% stake, while DeepSeek was seeking to avoid giving up significant control rights in any deal.