FT: DeepSeek in Preliminary Talks With Investors on New Funding at ~$71B Valuation — Roughly $19B Step-Up From ~$52B May Round That Raised $7B From Tencent and CATL

The FT reports DeepSeek is in preliminary talks with investors about raising new funds at approximately a $71 billion valuation, per sources cited on July 13. That represents a roughly $19 billion mark-up from the ~$52 billion post-money valuation set at the end of May, when DeepSeek closed its first-ever external round of ~$7B led by Tencent (~$1.5B) and CATL (~$735M). The step-up comes just six weeks after that maiden round closed with founder Liang Wenfeng's unusual limited-partnership structure and five-year investor lock-up.