Tencent And CATL Emerge As Biggest External Investors In DeepSeek Startup

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is all set to raise about 50 billion yuan ($7.4 billion) in its first external funding round from investors, according to people familiar with the matter. The fundraising could value the company at between 350 billion yuan and 400 billion yuan ($52 billion-$59 billion) after the investment, Reuters Reported.

The fundraising marks a major milestone for DeepSeek, which emerged as China's leading AI startup and gained global attention early last year after its V3 and R1 models won praise from Silicon Valley and challenged US perceptions of China's AI capabilities.

Tencent, CATL To Be The Biggest External Investors

Founder Liang Wenfeng has committed 20 billion yuan of his own capital to the fundraising, the sources said. It added that Tencent Holdings is considering an investment of around 10 billion yuan, while battery giant CATL is weighing a commitment of about 5 billion yuan, making them the largest external investors in the round.

DeepSeek is also in final discussions with China's national artificial intelligence fund, gaming company NetEase and e-commerce giant JD.com. The company is expected to limit participation to fewer than 10 investors, the sources added.

The investor lineup highlights Beijing's efforts to build a more self-sufficient AI ecosystem spanning advanced models, computing infrastructure and energy supply.

CATL, best known as a dominant supplier of electric vehicle batteries, has recently expanded into AI data centre infrastructure, exploring opportunities in power equipment and energy storage as AI-related demand for reliable electricity surges.

For Tencent, a closer partnership with DeepSeek could strengthen its position in China's increasingly competitive AI market. While the company has been promoting its Hunyuan AI model, it trails domestic leaders including ByteDance's Doubao and DeepSeek. The investment could also help Tencent keep pace with rival Alibaba, which has heavily backed its proprietary Qwen AI model.

Other investors in the mix

DeepSeek aims to complete the fundraising within the next few weeks, although the final terms remain subject to change. The company has not publicly indicated whether it plans to pursue an initial public offering.

Hong Kong-based IDG Capital and Monolith Capital are also among prospective investors in the round. IDG declined to comment while Monolith did not respond to a request for comment.