8 hours ago - Business

China's DeepSeek reportedly raising $7 billion

Dan Primack

Illustration of screen shapes with AI sparkles on them, rising from the bottom right of the frame. — Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios

DeepSeek is raising around $7.4 billion at around a $52 billion valuation from investors like Tencent and CATL, according to Bloomberg.

Why it matters: This is a reminder that America's AI trinity faces viable competition from China, particularly as enterprise customers try to control token costs.

Zoom in: DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng would invest around $2.85 billion into the deal, while other participants include a state-backed fund.

Wenfeng reportedly told investors that his company "will prioritize groundbreaking AI research over short-term commercialization," while continuing to develop open-source models.

The bottom line: DeepSeek is getting deeper pockets.

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China's DeepSeek reportedly raising $7 billion

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