DeepSeek has reportedly raised about $15 billion, or roughly 100 billion yuan, according to a Bloomberg report cited by TechCrunch on October 22, 2026. TechCrunch describes it as one of the biggest funding rounds in China. The figure is a step up from the "at least 80 billion yuan" Bloomberg reported on October 6, which we covered in DeepSeek's $12 billion funding round with Tencent and CATL.
Two caveats frame everything below. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to TechCrunch's request for comment, and the reporting is based on people familiar with the matter rather than a company announcement. TechCrunch's article also does not state a valuation.
How the number moved
The round has grown in each report, which is itself information about investor demand.
| Date | Report | Size |
|---|---|---|
| June 2026 | DeepSeek raised more than $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation (Reuters, as cited by TechCrunch) | Over $7B |
| July 2026 | Reportedly seeking about $1.5 billion at around a $71 billion valuation, with a possible China IPO as early as next year (TechCrunch) | About $1.5B (sought) |
| Oct 6, 2026 | Bloomberg: close to a round of at least 80 billion yuan, with CATL and Tencent among the largest commitments | About $11.9B |
| Oct 22, 2026 | Bloomberg via TechCrunch: about 100 billion yuan, with CATL and Tencent among potential investors | About $15B |
Coverage of the October 6 report also said the round began at roughly 50 billion yuan and grew as demand exceeded expectations after the launch of DeepSeek's latest model. If that account is accurate, the size doubled between the initial ask and the latest report.
DeepSeek's reported round, as the numbers moved
Reported round size in billions of US dollars, from the June close to the latest Bloomberg report, with a Chinese peer for scale.
June is a floor ('more than $7 billion'). October figures are reported by Bloomberg from people familiar and are not confirmed by DeepSeek.
Who is reported to be investing
TechCrunch names CATL, the Chinese battery maker, and Tencent, the company behind WeChat, as potential investors "among others". The list is not complete. Earlier reporting put founder Liang Wenfeng's own contribution to the first outside round at about 20 billion yuan, with Tencent adding roughly 10 billion yuan and CATL about 5 billion yuan, though those figures also come from press accounts rather than filings.
DeepSeekLiang co-founded the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, which helped finance DeepSeek's early development. WireScreen's analysis of corporate ownership data estimates he retains about 81.6% of the Chinese operating entity after an earlier funding round, as TechCrunch reports. A round of this size, if it closes as described, would test how much of that control is diluted.
The timing: raising capital two days after a US restriction
On October 20, the US ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's AI technology from their systems over security concerns, covered in our report on the DHS order. The funding report followed two days later. TechCrunch frames the two together: DeepSeek faces US restrictions even as it expands spending on AI infrastructure and open models for domestic and international markets.
There are two readings, and the evidence does not distinguish between them:
- The restriction has limited effect on the company's capital access. The investors named are Chinese, and the order applies to US federal civilian systems rather than to Chinese capital markets.
- The round was in progress before the order. The 80 billion yuan report predates it by two weeks, so the order cannot have caused the round, and the order's effect on final terms is unknown.
How it compares with other Chinese labs
TechCrunch gives sector context that helps size the round:
| Company | Reported event | Figure |
|---|---|---|
| DeepSeek | Reported round, Oct 22 | About $15B |
| Moonshot AI (Kimi) | Raised in May 2026 | $2B at a $20B valuation |
| Manus AI | Raised earlier in October 2026 | More than $500M |
| Zhipu AI (Z.ai) | Listed in Hong Kong, January 2026 | Market cap about $29B |
| MiniMax | Listed in Hong Kong, January 2026 | Market cap about $7.2B |
On these figures, the reported DeepSeek round is more than seven times Moonshot's raise. TechCrunch notes the expansion could intensify competition among domestic Chinese rivals. A private round of this size also gives DeepSeek an alternative to the public listing route that Zhipu and MiniMax took, and earlier coverage said the company had hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a possible STAR Market IPO, with timing and valuation undecided.
Why it matters for people who build with AI models
DeepSeek is best known for open-weight models that developers can run or fine-tune themselves. More capital for infrastructure and open models tends to mean more of those releases, which affects the price and capability options available to builders worldwide. It also raises compliance questions for organisations subject to US federal rules, since the October 20 order covers federal civilian agencies specifically.
For teams that use several models, the sensible response is portability rather than prediction. Model-agnostic workspaces such as Metir let a team change which model handles a task if regulation, price or performance shifts, without rebuilding the surrounding workflow.
What to watch next
- Confirmation and valuation. Neither DeepSeek nor the reporting has stated a valuation for the 100 billion yuan figure.
- Final investor list. TechCrunch says the named investors are not exhaustive.
- IPO timing. Earlier coverage points to a possible STAR Market listing, with no date set.
- Policy follow-through. Whether other governments or agencies follow the US federal order.
Sources:
- DeepSeek reportedly raises $15B days after US restrictions (TechCrunch)
- DeepSeek reportedly nears $12bn funding round backed by Tencent and CATL (The Next Web)
- DeepSeek Reportedly Nears 80 Billion Yuan Tencent-Backed Funding Round (Let's Data Science)
- DeepSeek to raise at least $12 billion in Tencent-backed funding (Khaleej Times, citing Bloomberg)
Image credits
- Hero and in-body photo: "Light show in Qianjiang New City 01.png" by Y Chen, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Converted to JPEG, pulled 2026-10-23 and reviewed visually before use.