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DeepSeek Revenue Hits $1B Run Rate, Eyes $7.5B Shanghai Raise

DeepSeek Funding China AI ai-business

TL;DR

  • DeepSeek's annualized revenue run rate crossed $1 billion, more than double the roughly $500 million reported a few months ago.
  • API price hikes of 2.3x to 4.5x last month drove the jump; the API business posted an 82.9% gross margin through July.
  • The Hangzhou lab plans to close a 50 billion yuan (~$7.5B) Series B by end-October at a 500 billion yuan valuation, with CITIC Securities leading a STAR Market IPO.

DeepSeek's annualized revenue run rate has crossed $1 billion, more than double the roughly $500 million reported a few months ago, The Information wrote. CEO Liang Wenfeng told investors the jump followed API price hikes of 2.3x to 4.5x last month.

Customers didn't walk. "Demand for services remained strong even after CEO Liang Wenfeng raised API prices between 2.3 and 4.5 times, helping the API business reach an 82.9% gross margin through July," per the reporting.

The Hangzhou lab is trying to close a Series B of roughly 50 billion yuan, about $7.5 billion, by the end of October, at a 500 billion yuan (~$75 billion) valuation. It has picked CITIC Securities as lead underwriter for a Shanghai STAR Market listing, Yahoo Finance reported, with a public debut targeted for 2027.

If it lists, DeepSeek "would become the most valuable pure AI company to list outside the United States."

The fundraise lands amid a steady drumbeat of DeepSeek coverage. China's Cyberspace Administration opened a probe into DeepSeek and Moonshot over Claude data routing just days ago.