A jump in reported valuations
In July, DeepSeek was also reported to be seeking another $1.5 billion at a valuation of about $71 billion. A possible initial public offering in China as early as next year was discussed at the same time.
Those figures put the reported $15 billion round in a broader funding rush:
The company behind the round
Liang Wenfeng founded DeepSeek in 2023 after co-founding High-Flyer, a Chinese quantitative hedge fund that helped finance the startup’s early development. In early 2025, DeepSeek drew global attention with its free, open reasoning model, RI, which challenged the dominance of US AI companies.
After the previous funding round, Liang retained about 81.6% of the Chinese operating company, according to company ownership data analyzed by WireScreen. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.
What the money is meant to buy
Bloomberg reports that DeepSeek is increasing spending on AI infrastructure and open models for both domestic and international markets, despite US restrictions. That makes the reported raise more than a valuation story: it would give the company room to extend its reach while competition among Chinese AI firms intensifies.
I think the unanswered question is how much of this capital is meant to build durable infrastructure, and how much to support a race for market position. The announcement, as reported, gives no breakdown. That matters because a huge round can signal ambition without showing whether the spending will translate into a lasting advantage.
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