Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is close to raising at least $12 billion in a new funding round ahead of its planned IPO in early 2027. The company initially aimed to raise around $7.5 billion, but investor demand exceeded expectations.
Among the largest participants in the round are Tencent and battery maker CATL. According to sources cited by Bloomberg, the final amount could approach $15 billion. DeepSeek had previously targeted a valuation of around $75 billion.
New model boosts investor interest
Interest in the company increased after the release of its V4 Flash model. It delivered strong performance at a relatively low cost and intensified competition between DeepSeek and OpenAI and Anthropic.
The company first gained major attention in 2025 after releasing a model that could compete with U.S. offerings at significantly lower cost. After the current funding round closes, DeepSeek plans to restructure the company in preparation for its IPO.
DeepSeek builds massive computing infrastructure
The new funding will also be used to expand computing capacity. DeepSeek plans to deploy at least 160,000 advanced Huawei accelerators at a new data center in Inner Mongolia. It could become one of the largest known clusters of Huawei AI chips.
Founder Liang Wenfeng plans to continue developing open AI models and pursue artificial general intelligence. According to Bloomberg, he has repeatedly stressed that pushing the technology forward is more important to him than rapid monetization.
When DeepSeek began preparing for an IPO
DeepSeek’s IPO preparations first became known in mid-July 2026. At the time, the company was reported to be discussing a listing in mainland China and targeting a market debut in 2027. The startup had already been in talks with banks and auditors and later selected CITIC Securities to prepare for a listing on Shanghai’s STAR Market.
DeepSeek needs the IPO primarily to finance further growth. Developing new AI models requires increasingly large investments in computing power, data centers and talent. The company plans to expand its infrastructure significantly, while Liang Wenfeng has told investors that retaining top researchers and continuing long-term research remain priorities even if they do not generate quick profits.
DeepSeek had previously planned to raise $7.4 billion.
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