DeepSeek Reportedly Seeks $7.4 Billion at $74 Billion Valuation for Compute Buildout

DeepSeek is reportedly seeking at least $7.4 billion in new funding at a potential $74 billion valuation, a proposed round aimed at research and development and an expansion of its computing infrastructure. The financing would place fresh outside capital at the center of an AI lab that was initially funded and supplied with computing power by founder Liang Wenfeng’s High-Flyer Quant.

A round still in formation

The money has not been presented as a completed round. CNBC said DeepSeek was in talks to raise at least $7.4 billion in a second financing; Hindustan Times described a $7.4 billion raise that would value the company at $74 billion. Both accounts point to a major step-up in the lab’s external-capital ambitions, but retain the conditional language of an ongoing transaction.

Named prospective investors include existing shareholders Monolith Management, Shixiang and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology. Funds backed by Chinese local-government vehicles are also reportedly planning to participate. The latest structure would permit more direct investment in DeepSeek, after most investors in the prior round were told to invest through a limited partnership managed by Liang, according to people familiar with the matter.

$7.4 billionNew funding sought

DeepSeek is reportedly seeking $7.4 billion in a new financing round.

$74 billionPotential valuation

The proposed financing would value DeepSeek at $74 billion.

$500 millionReported annual recurring revenue

People familiar with DeepSeek’s financials said its annual recurring revenue had reached $500 million.

From quant-funded lab to outside capital

High-Flyer Quant, the hedge fund Liang co-founded, provided DeepSeek’s early financing and computing power. But the lab’s capital and compute requirements have grown, and Rhodium Group analyst Ciel Qi told CNBC that High-Flyer’s revenue had become unstable. That creates a practical reason to seek investors whose capital is not tied to the fund’s trading business.

The financial shift in three points

• DeepSeek’s first reported funding round totaled 50 billion yuan, or about $7.4 billion.
• Tencent and other investors reportedly valued DeepSeek at more than $50 billion in a June round.
• Investors named in the first round included Monolith Management, Tencent, JD.com, NetEase and Contemporary Amperex Technology.

An IPO case, and a strategic footprint

The prospective raise also arrives as DeepSeek prepares for a possible public-market path. The company has reportedly hired banks and advisers for a planned Shanghai listing next year. Its reported $500 million in annual recurring revenue offers investors one business measure ahead of that potential listing, though it remains a figure attributed to people familiar with the company’s financials.

DeepSeek and High-Flyer have also placed capital around China’s hardware and robotics sectors. High-Flyer affiliates received a combined $26 million allocation in pre-IPO shares of memory-chip maker CXMT. Separately, DeepSeek acquired 2.31% of Unitree Robotics’ offering and accepted a 36-month lock-up, compared with the 12 months accepted by most strategic backers. These investments show that the organization’s AI ambitions already extend beyond model development into relationships across parts of the computing and robotics stack.

The immediate question is execution: whether the reported round closes on its proposed terms and gives DeepSeek the capacity it seeks for research and computing infrastructure. DeepSeek and High-Flyer did not respond to CNBC’s requests for comment, leaving the proposed valuation, investor commitments and timetable unconfirmed by the companies.