DeepSeek Suspends Second Round of Financing of at Least 10 Billion Yuan
DeepSeek
According to Bloomberg, Chinese AI company DeepSeek has notified potential investors that it is suspending the signing of an investment agreement for its second round of financing, which was intended to raise at least 10 billion yuan at a pre-investment valuation of no less than 480 billion yuan. The reason is said to be a leak of an internal memo that caused concern within the company.
According to Bloomberg, DeepSeek has suspended the signing of its second round of external financing, which was expected to take place in the coming days. The company planned to raise at least 10 billion yuan (about $710 billion post-investment) at a pre-investment valuation of no less than 480 billion yuan. This came a few weeks after the completion of the first external financing round, in which DeepSeek raised about 50 billion yuan ($74 billion) from investors including Tencent and CATL, as well as personal funds from founder Liang Wenfeng. The pause is attributed to a leaked internal memo that raised concerns about trust. The financing has not been officially canceled, and negotiations could resume. The suspension creates uncertainty regarding the timeline for resumption, changes in approach to investors, and possible IPO plans, which are rumored to be filed as early as 2026.
Source: QbitAI 量子位 —
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