Inside DeepSeek's US$7.4 billion funding raise: China's AI champion keeps investors close and control closer

Levi Li

, DIGITIMES, Taipei

Jun 17, 2026, 15:18 0

Credit: AFP

Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has closed its first external funding round, raising more than CNY50 billion (approx. US$7.4 billion) in a deal that values the large-language model developer at more than US$50 billion and makes it China's most valuable AI startup.

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