DeepSeek reportedly raises $15.8 billion at an $86 billion valuation with more state-linked backing
Nearly 30 investors joined the second round, including Tencent, CATL, SMIC and China's National AI Industry Investment Fund.
According to TokenPost, DeepSeek has raised about $15.8 billion in a second funding round that values the Chinese AI developer at close to $86 billion. Nearly 30 investors took part. Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL remained among the largest backers, and CATL chairman Zeng Yuqun also participated. Tencent put in the same amount it invested in DeepSeek's first round. The investor group spans technology and industry, including SMIC, vivo, Meituan, Geely, Midea Group, Luxshare, Ctrip and Xiaohongshu, along with memory and semiconductor firms, smartphone makers, automakers, manufacturers, travel companies and consumer platforms. State-linked participation grew in this round. The National AI Industry Investment Fund matched its first-round investment. China Mobile, China Telecom, CICC, CITIC Securities and China Life also joined, alongside other state-linked and financial institutions. The round pairs private industrial investors with telecom operators, securities firms and insurers, which shows how widely Chinese corporate and state capital is backing domestic model developers. The report did not say how DeepSeek plans to use the money.