DeepSeek Valuation Hits $45B as Big Fund Leads First External Funding Round

DeepSeek valuation has soared to $45 billion as China‘s state-backed “Big Fund” leads the AI startup‘s first external funding round. The Silicon Review reports on Tencent and Alibaba’s participation and the strategic push for domestic AI chips.

DeepSeek valuation has skyrocketed to approximately $45 billion as China‘s state-backed “Big Fund” the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund leads the artificial intelligence startup’s first external financing round.

The DeepSeek funding round represents a dramatic jump from the roughly $20 billion valuation the company was pegged at just weeks ago. The round has drawn interest from Chinese tech giants Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group, though the final investor lineup has yet to be finalized.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng, who controls approximately 89.5% of the company through direct and indirect holdings, is also expected to participate in the funding round personally. The startup previously relied entirely on internal funding from parent company Huanfang Quantitative, a quantitative hedge fund, for research and development.

The decision to seek external capital comes as DeepSeek faces pressure from competitors poaching its researchers and the need to build a robust application ecosystem around its models. The company seeks to offer employee shares to retain top talent and deepen collaboration with strategic partners like Tencent.

Just weeks ago, on April 24, DeepSeek launched its V4 model preview, featuring a breakthrough attention mechanism and world-leading long-context processing capabilities. The model is optimized to run on domestic hardware, including AI chips made by Huawei Technologies, aligning with China’s broader push for technological self-reliance amid U.S. export controls.

The Big Fund‘s potential involvement marks a significant expansion of its investment scope. Historically focused on semiconductor manufacturing, chip design, and equipment, the fund has backed industry giants like SMIC but has not previously invested in large language model developers. A DeepSeek investment would signal tighter integration between China’s chip ecosystem and AI model builders under Beijing’s strategic vision for domestic AI development.

Some valuation estimates have reportedly reached as high as 50 billion, with the company targeting a raise of 3 billion to $4 billion to boost its computing power and enhance employee welfare.

As DeepSeek valuation soars to $45 billion with the state-backed Big Fund leading its first external funding round, The Silicon Review examines how China’s most disruptive AI lab is shifting from hedge-fund self-funding to strategic alliances with Tencent and Alibaba and why Beijing is betting big on its homegrown AI champion to challenge OpenAI and Anthropic.