DeepSeek Raises $15 Billion in One of China’s Largest Funding Rounds, Days After US Ban
DeepSeek’s reported $15 billion raise follows a U.S. order, issued two days earlier, for federal civilian agencies to remove its AI over national-security concerns. CATL and Tencent are among potential investors, with funds targeting AI infrastructure and open models.
Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has raised approximately $15 billion — around 100 billion yuan — in one of the largest funding rounds in China’s history, according to a Bloomberg report published October 22, 2026. The raise came just two days after the U.S. ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek’s AI technology from their systems over national security concerns.
Potential investors in the round include Chinese battery manufacturer CATL and Tencent, the company behind WeChat, among others, according to the Bloomberg report.
The Hangzhou-based startup is using the capital to ramp up spending on AI infrastructure and open models for both domestic and international markets, even as it faces restrictions in the United States. The new funding could further intensify competition among DeepSeek’s domestic rivals, the report noted.
The October raise follows a June 2026 funding round in which DeepSeek raised more than $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation, and a reported July effort to secure an additional $1.5 billion at a valuation of around $71 billion. The company has also been exploring a potential IPO in China as early as next year.
DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who previously co-founded Chinese quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, which helped finance the company’s early development. Liang retains an estimated 81.6% stake in DeepSeek’s Chinese operating entity following its earlier funding round, according to corporate ownership data analyzed by WireScreen. The company drew global attention in early 2025 with its free-to-use, open-weight R1 reasoning model.
The raise is part of a broader trend of large investments flowing into AI companies globally. Other Chinese AI firms have seen significant capital inflows recently, including Moonshot AI, which secured $2 billion at a $20 billion valuation in May 2026, and Manus AI, which raised more than $500 million earlier in October 2026.
DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment.