DeepSeek Closes $16B Second Round at $74 Billion Pre-Money

DeepSeek has closed a second funding round of roughly 100 billion yuan, or nearly $16 billion, more than doubling an initial 50 billion yuan target, The Information reported. The pre-money valuation sits at about 500 billion yuan, or roughly $74 billion, flat from the summer round.

Battery maker CATL and Tencent, both existing shareholders, are "among the biggest investors in the round." More than 15 investors took part, including chipmaker GigaDevice, Meituan, Geely, Midea, NetEase, Boyu Capital, CPE, Legend Capital and IDG Capital. CATL alone roughly doubled its earlier contribution, adding another 10 billion yuan on top of a previous 5 billion yuan ticket.

The deal closes four months after a $7.4 billion round in June at about $50 billion, pushing DeepSeek's 2026 total above $22 billion. The Information describes the raise as "one of the biggest-ever fundraising deals in China's AI sector," with a cap table that includes "some of the country's most powerful state-backed institutions."

Tencent and Alibaba are also reportedly in talks for a separate stake, one of 59 DeepSeek stories we've tracked in the last 90 days.