AIBRIEF
The Hangzhou based lab behind DeepSeek's R1 — the open weight (model parameters publicly released) reasoning model that went viral in early 2025 — named battery maker Contemporary Amperex (CATL) and Tencent as potential investors, with proceeds
Two days after the US ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's technology from their systems, the Hangzhou-based Chinese AI lab reportedly raised about $15 billion in new funding, according to Bloomberg reporting carried by TechCrunch. Named potential investors include battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and Tencent, the company behind WeChat, per a Reuters wire repost via Channel News Asia.
The raise lands roughly two days after the Federal Register posted exclusion order FR Doc. 2026-21447, which directs federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek's AI products over security concerns. Dealroom reports that DeepSeek launched this second round in July, so the raise was likely in motion before that order.
DeepSeek is ramping up spending on AI infrastructure and open models for domestic and international markets, Bloomberg reported via TechCrunch, and Dealroom reports that the money is earmarked for model research and computing power. The lab is the one behind the R1 reasoning model that went viral in early 2025 for being free to use and open-weight.
The new round follows a June raise of more than $7 billion at a roughly $50 billion valuation and a July-reported target of around $1.5 billion more at approximately $71 billion, with a potential China IPO as early as next year, Bloomberg reported. TechCrunch reports that founder Liang Wenfeng, who previously co-founded the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, still retains an estimated 81.6% stake in the company's Chinese operating entity following its earlier funding round, according to corporate ownership data analyzed by WireScreen.
DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment.