DeepSeek raises nearly $16 billion in its second funding round

DeepSeek closed a 105.5 billion yuan, or approximately $15.8 billion, second funding round at a valuation of about 615.5 billion yuan, according to The Information. Nearly 30 investors participated, with Tencent and CATL remaining the largest backers. Industrial and state capital expanded their involvement through investments from major Chinese manufacturers, technology companies, state-owned institutions and the China National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund. Sources familiar with the deal said DeepSeek doubled its fundraising target midway through because of rising prices for Nvidia’s high-end chips and concerns about an AI industry bubble. Bloomberg had previously reported on October 22 that DeepSeek completed a roughly 100 billion yuan round led by CATL and Tencent. The company’s first external capital raise came in April after three years operating without outside funding.