n October 13, 2026, Chinese financial media Caijing and TMTpost reported, citing people close to the transaction, that DeepSeek plans to raise roughly RMB 100 billion (about $14 billion) in its second funding round, doubling the previously planned RMB 50 billion. The pre-money valuation is reportedly holding steady at about RMB 500 billion ($70 billion). New investors are predominantly industrial capital, including Shixi Capital, SMIC Capital, CPE Yuanfeng, Legend Capital, and Geely, while existing shareholders such as CATL, Tencent, IDG Capital, Lisi Capital, and Shixiang Capital are expected to participate again. CATL alone is said to be adding roughly RMB 10 billion, bringing its total intended investment to about RMB 15 billion.
If the round closes in full, DeepSeek's post-money valuation would reach roughly RMB 600 billion ($84 billion), with new investors collectively holding about 16.7% of the company. The deal is reportedly close to completion but still being adjusted, and DeepSeek has not officially confirmed the terms. According to the reports, DeepSeek is also working with sponsor brokers to map out investor and fund ownership structures in preparation for a STAR Market IPO filing as early as late 2026 and a 2027 listing. That would make DeepSeek the first multi-hundred-billion-RMB Chinese foundation-model company to target a domestic STAR Market listing.
The capital structure also signals a strategic shift from pure financial fundraising to industrial synergy. DeepSeek previously acquired a small strategic stake in human-robot startup Unitree through its IPO allocation, and it is now reportedly leading the seed round of robotics AI startup Winverse AI — a move that points to DeepSeek extending from language models into embodied intelligence and underlying infrastructure. Overall, this financing would set a new record for Chinese AI venture funding in 2026, raise the valuation ceiling for large-model companies, and intensify competition for compute, talent, and supply-chain resources.
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