DeepSeek reportedly has not shared its upcoming AI model with American engineers and instead granted early access to Chinese companies, further intensifying the technological war between the U.S. and China, as of Feb. 26, 2026.
Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images
Chinese AI startupDeepSeekis set to raise about 50billionyuan ($7.4billion) in its first funding round from investors including Tencent Holdingsand CATLpeople with knowledge of the matter said.
Thefundraisingcould value the company after the investment at between 350billionyuan and 400billionyuan, or between $52billionand $59billion, the people said, declining to be identified because the information is confidential.
DeepSeekbecame China’s national AI champion and garnered global fame early last year, when its V3 and R1 models drew widespread praise in Silicon Valley and challenged U.S. assumptions about China’s AI capabilities.
Tencent, CATL set to be biggest external investors
The startup’s founder, Liang Wenfeng, has committed 20billionyuan of his own money, the people said, adding that tech conglomerate Tencent is considering 10billionyuan and battery giant CATL is looking at 5billionyuan, which would make them the largest external investors in the round.
DeepSeekis also in final talks with China’s national artificial intelligence fund, gaming developer NetEaseand e-commerce giant JD.com, they said, noting that the planned number of investors was fewer than 10.
DeepSeek, Liang, NetEase, JD.com and the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, which is the main backer of the national AI fund, did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. Tencent and CATL declined to comment.
The line-up underscores China’s efforts to build an increasingly self-sufficient AI industry, from models to the energy infrastructure needed to power them.
CATL, best known as a dominant supplier in the electric vehicle battery supply chain, has recently pushed into AI data centres, exploring opportunities to provide power equipment and energy storage solutions as AI workloads drive demand for large-scale, reliable power.
Tencent has sought to promote its own AI model, Hunyuan, but trails domestic market leaders including ByteDance’s Doubao andDeepSeek. A closer relationship withDeepSeekcould help Tencent keep pace with rival Alibaba, which has prioritised its in-house Qwen AI model.
Other investors in the mix
DeepSeekis expected to complete the round within the next couple of weeks, said the people, cautioning that financial details could still change.
The startup has to date not made any statements about whether it plans an initial public offering sometime in the future.
Hong Kong-headquartered IDG Capital and Monolith Capital are also among the prospective investors, the people said.
IDG declined to comment while Monolith did not respond to a request for comment.
About The Author
