DeepSeek’s second funding round totaled RMB 105.5 billion, or about $15.8 billion, according to The Information, with the deal valuing the company at roughly RMB 615.5 billion. The round drew nearly 30 investors and adds detail to earlier reporting on the company’s capital raise.
Tencent Holdings and CATL remained the two biggest backers. Tencent invested RMB 10 billion in each of the two rounds, while CATL and its chairman Robin Zeng contributed RMB 5 billion and RMB 10 billion across the two rounds. A group of industrial investors also joined, including CXMT, SMIC, vivo, Meituan, Geely, Midea, Luxshare, Trip.com and Xiaohongshu, with some individual checks ranging from RMB 1 billion to RMB 3 billion.
State-backed participation also increased. The National AI Industry Investment Fund invested another RMB 1 billion, matching its first-round commitment. China Mobile, China Telecom, CICC, CITIC Securities and China Life were also among the investors, with individual commitments ranging from RMB 2 billion to RMB 8 billion. People familiar with the matter said rising prices for Nvidia’s high-end chips and concerns about an AI bubble led DeepSeek to double its fundraising target midway through the process.
DeepSeek’s second funding round totaled RMB 105.5 billion, or about $15.8 billion, according to The Information. The round valued the company at about RMB 615.5 billion and drew nearly 30 investors.
Tencent and CATL remained the largest backers
Tencent Holdings and Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited, or CATL, stayed on as the two main contributors. Tencent invested RMB 10 billion in each of the two rounds. CATL and its chairman Robin Zeng contributed RMB 5 billion and RMB 10 billion across the two rounds.
Industrial investors joined the round
Other participants included CXMT, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation, or SMIC, vivo, Meituan, Geely, Midea Group, Luxshare Precision, Trip.com and Xiaohongshu. Some individual investors in this group committed between RMB 1 billion and RMB 3 billion.
State capital took a bigger role
The report said state-backed capital played a much larger part in this round. China’s National AI Industry Investment Fund invested another RMB 1 billion, the same amount it put in during the first round. China Mobile, China Telecom, China International Capital Corporation, CITIC Securities and China Life also joined, with individual investments ranging from RMB 2 billion to RMB 8 billion.
Why the fundraising target was doubled
People familiar with the matter said DeepSeek doubled the size of the raise midway through the process because prices for Nvidia’s high-end chips kept rising and concerns about a bubble in the AI sector were growing.
Bloomberg had previously reported that DeepSeek completed a fundraising round of about RMB 100 billion, led by CATL and Tencent.
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