DeepSeek nears first fundraising round as Chinese state capital joins AI race

(ECNS) - Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek is nearing completion of its first external fundraising round, with China's state-backed semiconductor investment fund expected to lead the deal, according to media reports. The investor lineup was "largely finalized" by the end of May.

Founded three years ago, DeepSeek had previously not opened itself to outside investors. Interest in the company has surged since April as China's AI sector attracted growing investor attention.

One investor familiar with DeepSeek's management said the fundraising was initially expected to be dominated by state-backed capital, but the company later opened opportunities to private investors after the May Day holiday.

The report said investment firms, including Monolith Capital and Hillhouse Capital, had been in talks with DeepSeek.

Investment firms including Monolith Capital and Hillhouse Capital have reportedly been in talks with DeepSeek. Media reports said the company's valuation reached $45 billion in mid-May, up from about $20 billion a month earlier.

Song Xiangqing, vice chairman of the Commerce Economy Association of China, said a lead investment by the state-backed chip fund would mark its first investment in a pure large-language-model (LLM) company.

(By Zhang Jiahao)