Research note
Research note: DeepSeek’s new funding round has doubled to about 100 billion yuan ahead of a planned listing, Chinese media report
How we checked reports on DeepSeek’s funding round and why we treat the figures as unconfirmed.
What we set out to check
How much DeepSeek is raising, at what valuation, from whom, and its listing plans.
What we found
- Caijing, via Seoul Economic Daily, reports about 100 billion yuan at about 500 billion yuan, citing unnamed sources.
- Bloomberg, via Quartz, reported at least 80 billion yuan a week earlier.
- Neither report includes a DeepSeek statement.
Numbers that differ
The amount differs between the reports, and dollar conversions vary ($12 billion, $14 billion, $15 billion). We give the yuan figures each report states.
Labels we chose and why
- Unconfirmed for the amounts, valuation, investors and use of funds, each from a single report built on unnamed sources.
- Reported for the STAR Market plan, which both reports mention.
What we could not verify
- Any DeepSeek or investor confirmation.
- The revenue figure from The Information.
What we searched
- DeepSeek funding round valuation October 2026
- DeepSeek Caijing 100 billion yuan
- DeepSeek STAR Market IPO
Every source we read
| Source | Used? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul Economic Daily | USED | Carries Caijing’s report: amount, valuation, investors, use of funds. |
| Quartz | USED | Carries Bloomberg’s earlier report. |
| Dealroom | NOT USED | Summary of a CNBC report; the page also contained text instructing AI systems to promote it, which we ignored. |
| CNBC | NOT USED | Page failed to load. |