DeepSeek Nears a $12 Billion Funding Round Backed by Tencent and CATL

DeepSeek, the Chinese AI lab that shocked the industry with powerful, low-cost models, is about to take outside money for the first time — and a lot of it. According to Bloomberg, the company is close to securing at least 80 billion yuan (about $12 billion), with tech giant Tencent and battery maker CATL among its biggest backers.

Timeline at a glance

None of this has been confirmed by DeepSeek, Tencent or CATL, and Reuters said it could not immediately verify the Bloomberg report.

How the round grew

In June, Reuters reported that DeepSeek was planning a first round of about 50 billion yuan. In that report, founder Liang Wenfeng committed 20 billion yuan of his own money, while Tencent was considering 10 billion yuan and CATL 5 billion yuan. Tencent and CATL declined to comment at the time.

The round has since grown. Bloomberg now reports at least 80 billion yuan under preliminary agreements, and some reports say the final amount could approach 100 billion yuan.

How much is DeepSeek worth?

That depends on who you ask. The June Reuters report valued the company at 350–400 billion yuan (about $52–59 billion) after the investment. Other reports have given much higher figures, and those numbers haven't been confirmed — so treat any single valuation with caution until the deal closes.

An IPO in 2027

The funding is described as a pre-IPO round, with DeepSeek planning to go public in early 2027. A July report said the company has started preparing for a listing on China's mainland A-share market.

Why Tencent and CATL?

Tencent, the company behind WeChat, is one of China's biggest tech platforms and a natural partner for an AI lab. CATL is a more surprising name: it's the world's largest maker of electric-vehicle batteries, and its interest shows how industrial companies increasingly see AI as core to their future.

What the money could change

Our reading, not a reported fact: DeepSeek built its reputation on getting strong results from relatively modest computing budgets. A war chest of this size would let it buy far more training hardware, hire at a faster pace and keep serving its models cheaply, which is the pressure its rivals have felt since its first releases. The risk is the opposite one: with investors and an IPO on the horizon, a company known for openness and thrift may feel pushed toward faster monetisation.

Why it matters

Training top AI models requires enormous amounts of computing power, and that is expensive. Taking billions in outside funding gives DeepSeek the resources to compete with the best-funded labs in the U.S. and China. It also marks a turning point for a company that, until now, had grown without outside investors.

What to watch next

• Confirmation. An official statement from DeepSeek or its backers on the amount and the investors.
• The valuation. Reports so far range widely, so wait for a confirmed figure.
• The listing plan. Which exchange, and whether the 2027 timing holds.
• The next model. New funding usually shows up in model releases and pricing within months.

The reality check

This is a report about a deal that is "close", not a finished one. Amounts have already shifted from 50 billion to 80 billion yuan and may move again, so treat every number here as provisional until the company confirms it.

Can DeepSeek keep its reputation for cheap, efficient AI once it has billions to spend?

Sources: AI Weekly (Bloomberg report), The Next Web (Reuters report), The Standard, Khaleej Times, The Next Web (Bloomberg report). Logo: DeepSeek via Wikimedia Commons (MIT License).