
DeepSeek reportedly pauses new fundraising after leaked founder meeting
The controversy stems from a transcript of what was described as a nearly four-hour closed-door investor session in mid-July.

The controversy stems from a transcript of what was described as a nearly four-hour closed-door investor session in mid-July.

It may be weakening the very logic that has allowed Nvidia to maintain extraordinary margins for years: customers have no alternative.

DeepSeek reportedly generates annualized revenue of $400 million to $500 million, with gross margins exceeding 50% on its flagship API business.

The changes are expected to have the greatest impact on latency-sensitive applications with frequent API calls.

The Hangzhou-based AI upstart is among 308 newly added unicorns globally and has also entered the top 15 of the overall global unicorn ranking.

The company said it is hiring across 33 positions spanning seven broad categories, with roles based in Beijing and Hangzhou.

Investors receive no voting rights and are subject to a five-year lockup period during which their holdings cannot be transferred.

Founder and chief executive Liang Wenfeng has pledged 20 billion yuan of personal capital, accounting for roughly 40% of the round, the report said.

Media reports on May 22 said the latest round had expanded to 70 billion yuan ($10.33 billion), with a pre-money valuation of about $45 billion.

Cui Tianyi, a former co-founder of quant trading firm TSY Capital, joined DeepSeek’s newly formed Harness team in March, according to his LinkedIn profile.