DeepSeek Secures Massive Capital Despite Washington's Move to Block Its Use

For federal employees in the United States, the immediate change is a mandate to remove DeepSeek’s artificial intelligence technology from their computers due to security concerns. For the Hangzhou-based company itself, however, a different development has emerged. Just two days after the U.S. order was issued on October 20, DeepSeek reportedly secured approximately $15 billion, or about 100 billion yuan, according to a Bloomberg report.

This financing event represents one of the largest funding rounds in China. Potential investors are said to include major domestic firms such as the battery manufacturer CATL and Tencent, the parent company of WeChat. The timing of this capital raise suggests that concerns over its use by Western government agencies have not deterred significant backing from within China.

The reported sum builds upon a funding round completed in June, during which the company raised more than $7 billion at a valuation of $50 billion. Documents reviewed in July also indicated that the firm was seeking an additional $1.5 billion at a valuation of approximately $71 billion. Reports from that time suggested plans for a potential public offering in China as early as next year.

Despite the restrictions in the United States, DeepSeek is said to be increasing its expenditure on artificial intelligence infrastructure and developing open models for both domestic and international markets. This expansion could intensify the competition among China’s domestic AI rivals, who are also receiving substantial financial backing. The flow of billions into AI companies globally, including those in China, is described as part of an ongoing global race for dominance.

Other Chinese AI firms have also attracted significant investment. Moonshot AI, the developer of the Kimi assistant, secured $2 billion in May at a $20 billion valuation. Manus AI raised more than $500 million earlier this month. Companies that have already entered public markets include Zhipu AI (Z.ai) and MiniMax, which both listed in Hong Kong in January. Their market capitalizations stood at roughly $29 billion and $7.2 billion, respectively, as of October 22.

DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who previously co-founded the Chinese quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer. That fund helped finance the AI company’s early development. Liang retains an estimated 81.6% stake in its Chinese operating entity following its earlier funding round, according to corporate ownership data analyzed by WireScreen.

The company gained significant international attention in early 2025 with its free-to-use, open-weight R1 reasoning model, which was seen as challenging the dominance of U.S. AI companies. The recent U.S. directive for federal civilian agencies to remove the technology reflects ongoing scrutiny of the firm. DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the reported funding.