Deepseek nears $45 billion valuation as China's state chip fund leads round

Deepseek is close to a funding round that could value the Chinese AI lab at roughly $45 billion, according to the Financial Times. The talks are being led by the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, known as the "Big Fund," which has primarily backed semiconductor companies like SMIC and Yangtze Memory until now. Tech giant Tencent is also negotiating a stake, according to four people familiar with the discussions.

The valuation has climbed from $20 billion in just a matter of weeks. Founder Liang Wenfeng, who holds 89.5 percent of Deepseek, may also invest personally. Liang originally intended to raise only a small amount to establish a valuation for employee stock options and prevent competitors from poaching staff.