Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startup DeepSeek has reportedly paused its second round of funding following the online dissemination of comments made by founder Liang Wenpeng regarding the U.S.-China AI competition.
Bloomberg News reported on July 25, citing sources familiar with the matter, that DeepSeek verbally informed some potential investors that it would not finalize any investment agreements for the time being.
However, negotiations remain fluid, and there is still a possibility that DeepSeek could resume its funding efforts in the future.
This decision is believed to be influenced, in part, by Liang's dissatisfaction over the leak of his remarks made to investors during the first round of funding, which concluded last month.
Recently, a transcript purportedly from a meeting involving Liang and unidentified individuals circulated online in China. According to reports from Chinese economic media, Liang stated that the Chinese AI industry relies heavily on Nvidia's semiconductors in the development of advanced models and that it continues to lag behind the U.S. in terms of technology.
Last month, DeepSeek raised $7 billion (approximately 10.24 trillion won) in its first external funding round, marking the largest amount ever for a Chinese tech startup's initial investment round, with participation from Tencent, the world's largest battery manufacturer CATL, and the China National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund.
DeepSeek had planned to secure an additional 10 billion yuan (approximately 2.1 trillion won) through subsequent funding rounds. Depending on investor participation, the total amount raised could increase, with a pre-investment valuation target of at least 480 billion yuan (approximately 103.7 trillion won), which is higher than the roughly $50 billion (approximately 73.1 trillion won) valuation during the first funding round.
DeepSeek is also preparing for an initial public offering (IPO), with the possibility of submitting its listing application as early as this year. If successful, it is expected to be a significant IPO representing the Chinese tech industry.
Last year, DeepSeek gained global attention by unveiling an AI model that achieved high performance with relatively limited computing resources. It demonstrated the potential for Chinese companies to compete with leading firms in Silicon Valley, even amid U.S. export restrictions on advanced semiconductors.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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