Reuters: DeepSeek Seeks First Outside Funding at Valuation Above $20 Billion

Photo: Reuters/Yonhap — [Photo=Reuters·Yonhap]

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek, which has previously ruled out outside funding, is now seeking its first external capital, according to reports.

Reuters reported on April 22 (local time) that Tencent and Alibaba are discussing potential investments in DeepSeek. The Information, citing multiple sources, said DeepSeek is pursuing its first outside funding round based on a valuation above $20 billion. Reuters said the valuation and the amount to be raised could change because talks are ongoing.

DeepSeek is an AI startup owned by Chinese hedge fund High-Flyer Capital Management. Reuters reported on April 17 that DeepSeek was in talks with investors to raise at least $300 million, based on a valuation of about $10 billion. At the time, The Information said DeepSeek was seeking outside funding to finance development of reasoning-focused AI and autonomous agents.

The rising valuation comes as AI development costs climb. Reuters said the fundraising talks underscore that building and operating advanced AI models requires large amounts of capital as sophisticated reasoning models and agent-based AI spread.

* This article has been translated by AI.

AJP