China's DeepSeek Seeks 50 Billion Yuan Funding From Tencent, CATL

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek is seeking to raise 50 billion yuan ($6.9 billion) from investors including Tencent Holdings Ltd. and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd., Reuters and Cailian reported on June 3.

Reuters, citing unnamed sources, reported that DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng is discussing a 20 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) investment of his own money, alongside 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) from Tencent and 5 billion yuan ($690 million) from CATL. If completed, the deal would make Tencent and CATL DeepSeek's largest external investors. The funding round would value DeepSeek at 350 billion yuan to 400 billion yuan, or about $48.3 billion to $55.2 billion.

A Chinese government-backed AI investment fund, game developer NetEase Inc. and e-commerce giant JD.com Inc. are also considering participating, the reports said.

DeepSeek, Tencent and CATL declined to comment.

DeepSeek drew global attention in January 2025 with its low-cost AI model R1. In April 2026, it unveiled a new AI model, V4, optimized for Huawei Technologies Co.'s Ascend chips.

The companies linked to potential investments in DeepSeek span AI models, energy and infrastructure, highlighting Beijing's broad support for the sector. At a Politburo meeting in late April 2026, the Chinese Communist Party identified AI as a key tool for economic stimulus and technology security.

Lee Mi-a, Hankyung.com reporter mia@hankyung.com