- Founder Liang Wenfeng’s wealth surges as Chinese AI startup targets a listing as early as 2027
- The reported fundraising underscores intensifying competition for capital
Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek is preparing for an initial public offering while launching a second fundraising round that could value the company at about $71 billion, according to Bloomberg and other media reports published on July 14.
The company is aiming to file for a listing as early as the end of 2026 and debut in 2027, while seeking to raise at least 10 billion yuan in fresh capital at a pre-money valuation of about $71 billion, the reports said.
One of the richest AI entrepreneurs
The reported fundraising comes just six weeks after DeepSeek’s first external financing round, which reportedly raised more than 50 billion yuan at a post-money valuation of about $52 billion.
Investors included Tencent, CATL, JD.com, NetEase, IDG Capital and the National AI Industry Investment Fund, among others, media reported.
Founder Liang Wenfeng reportedly invested about 20 billion yuan personally and retained nearly all voting control through a five-year lock-up arrangement for outside investors.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index on July 15, Liang’s net worth reached about $36 billion after rising by roughly $19.9 billion this year, making him one of the world’s wealthiest AI entrepreneurs.
DeepSeek reportedly generates annualized revenue of $400 million to $500 million, with gross margins exceeding 50% on its flagship API business.
Its flagship application recorded 129 million monthly active users in June, ranking among China’s three largest native AI apps.
Industry background
DeepSeek was incubated by quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer and spent nearly three years operating without external funding. The reported shift toward fundraising and an IPO reflects three broader trends.
First, China’s AI companies face mounting capital demands as competition shifts from model training to inference, requiring greater investment in data centers and AI chips.
Second, equity financing provides a mechanism to expand employee stock ownership plans and compete for top AI talent.
Third, capital markets have become more receptive to AI listings. China’s securities regulator announced in June that it would expand Shanghai’s STAR Market listing standards to include AI companies.
Meanwhile, the strong post-listing performance of domestic AI peers like Zhipu AI has reinforced investor appetite.
Why it matters for global readers
If confirmed, DeepSeek’s rapid transition from a self-funded research lab to a company pursuing a public listing at a valuation approaching $71 billion would illustrate how quickly China’s AI financing landscape is evolving.
The reported fundraising also suggests investors increasingly view open-source foundation models as commercially viable businesses rather than purely research projects.
This underscores the emergence of China as a second major global center for AI capital formation alongside the United States, which focuses more on closed-source model development.
