DeepSeek’s first round of financing has reached a significant milestone.

On June 16, foreign media outlet The Information reported that DeepSeek has completed financing exceeding 50 billion RMB, with its valuation surpassing 50 billion USD.

It is important to note that this information has not yet been officially confirmed by DeepSeek or the involved investors. However, the current developments suggest that this financing round is nearing completion.

DeepSeek initiated this round of financing in April 2026, and it has been ongoing for two months. This is the first time DeepSeek has opened up for external financing since its establishment. For a long period, the company adhered to the principles of “no financing, no IPO, no commercialization.”

Given this background, DeepSeek’s financing round has garnered significant attention both in the domestic AI sector and the global AI market. With many investors eager to participate, founder Liang Wenfeng set high investment thresholds for this round, adding to its intrigue.

1. What is the overall situation of DeepSeek’s financing?

According to reports, DeepSeek’s financing exceeds 50 billion RMB, with Liang Wenfeng personally investing 20 billion RMB. Other investors include Tencent, CATL, JD.com, NetEase, and IDG Capital.

With the completion of this financing, DeepSeek’s valuation has surpassed 50 billion USD. Notably, DeepSeek officially began this financing round in April 2026, when its valuation was approximately 10 billion USD. Over the following two months, the valuation increased several times, making this round the largest in the domestic large model sector.

2. What is special about this financing?

In terms of operations, DeepSeek employed a unique approach in this financing round. Reports indicate that most investors are required to inject funds into a limited partnership controlled by CEO Liang Wenfeng, rather than directly into DeepSeek itself. Additionally, these investors are subject to a five-year lock-up period.

Under this structure, these investors do not have voting rights in DeepSeek but can access priority financial information and have the right to participate in future financing rounds.

An exception among the investors is the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, which can directly invest in DeepSeek with an amount of 1 billion RMB, holding voting rights and not bound by the lock-up period.

3. Why this financing arrangement?

The core reason for this special arrangement appears to be to ensure Liang Wenfeng’s absolute control over DeepSeek. From past information, Liang is known for his strong technical idealism, with the founding purpose of DeepSeek being to achieve general artificial intelligence (AGI) for the benefit of the general public.

Reports indicate that during meetings with investors, Liang emphasized that the company would continue to advance open-source AI models with the goal of achieving AGI. DeepSeek’s primary task is to expand technological boundaries, prioritizing groundbreaking AI research over profitability and short-term commercialization.

Moreover, Liang’s strict requirements for this financing round, including the five-year equity lock-up period, are intended to ensure that investors possess strategic patience and are not seeking short-term gains.

4. Why did Tencent participate in this financing?

For Tencent, investing in DeepSeek is a move that goes beyond financial considerations; it is a strategic investment. Tencent has been one of DeepSeek’s early supporters, integrating support for DeepSeek into its Yuanbao app shortly after DeepSeek gained prominence in February 2025, highlighting a deep business synergy.

With this financing round, there is a significant opportunity for this business synergy to continue in the future development of AI between the two companies. Additionally, Tencent’s long-standing investment style, which often involves providing multifaceted support without direct intervention, may also be a crucial factor in its participation.

5. What is the core logic behind CATL’s investment in DeepSeek?

For DeepSeek, large-scale training computing power is a critical technical support point in advancing AI toward AGI, primarily supported by data centers, especially those with high energy consumption.

Data centers represent a significant strategic and business intersection between DeepSeek and CATL. The energy storage business related to AI data centers is a key area where CATL is currently focusing and represents a new growth curve for the company.

Notably, during a public interview discussing AI, CATL’s chairman emphasized that they view AI as a tool rather than competing with AI companies. He stated that AI relies on energy, and the AI data center’s token is essentially energy.

Thus, CATL aims to contribute to energy solutions for AIDC, which is a core reason for its investment in DeepSeek’s financing round.

6. What does the involvement of the national team mean for this financing?

The involvement of the national team in DeepSeek’s financing is a noteworthy observation. In May, the Financial Times reported that the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund was negotiating to lead DeepSeek’s first financing round. However, the latest report from The Information on June 16 indicates that the national team’s investment entity is the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund.

The exact nature of the national team’s involvement remains unclear. However, it is confirmed that, in the current environment, DeepSeek’s competitiveness in the AI sector has transcended mere technology. Additionally, from a computing power adaptation perspective, eight domestic AI chip manufacturers, including Huawei Ascend, Cambricon, and Moer Thread, have completed full adaptation to DeepSeek-V4.

It is worth mentioning that a source revealed that this financing round includes a special clause requiring Liang Wenfeng’s team to verify the true identities of all limited partners behind the invested funds to prevent equity from flowing into unknown entities, which is a logical precaution.

7. What will DeepSeek’s future development look like after this financing?

On one hand, from a product perspective, DeepSeek has the opportunity to launch new model versions to provide more tools for enterprise users, supporting industry-wide MCP protocols, including enhanced support for images and audio. This is partly to better approach commercialization.

On the other hand, DeepSeek will naturally need to increase investments in infrastructure, talent acquisition, and model training. Recent updates indicate that DeepSeek has initiated a talent recruitment plan for its data center in Inner Mongolia, with competitive salary levels, signaling the company’s goal of establishing its own data center.

In the long run, DeepSeek aims to achieve AGI, a long journey that requires substantial investments in funding, talent, and more. For Liang Wenfeng, balancing the expectations of capital partners for commercialization and reasonable returns while maintaining the company’s technical vision and inclusive mission will be a critical challenge.

In a sense, DeepSeek’s first round of financing is merely the beginning of this journey.