DeepSeek Raises Over $12 Billion Ahead of 2027 IPO, Tencent and CATL Among Investors

DeepSeek is set to raise at least 80 billion yuan ($12 billion) in its current funding round, exceeding its original 50 billion yuan target, with Tencent Holdings and Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd. among top investors, according to Bloomberg. Signed term sheets suggest the total could approach 100 billion yuan, valuing the AI company at a minimum of 500 billion yuan ($75 billion). Once the round closes, DeepSeek plans to restructure in preparation for an initial public offering in early 2027. Founder Liang Wenfeng has committed to keeping DeepSeek's AI models open, prioritizing technological ambition toward artificial general intelligence over commercial returns. The capital will partly fund a data center in Inner Mongolia, where DeepSeek intends to install at least 160,000 of Huawei's highest-end accelerators. The fundraising had been paused earlier after social media remarks linked to Liang about U.S.-China AI rivalry. Tencent's earlier 10 billion yuan commitment was DeepSeek's largest single investment at the time. CATL may seek a foothold in the data center supply chain.