DeepSeek raises about $15 billion from Tencent, CATL and others

DeepSeek has raised about 100 billion yuan, roughly $15 billion, in a funding round where Tencent and battery maker CATL were among the largest investors, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg News on Thursday.

Why it matters: The round, twice the size first targeted, gives China's best known open model developer far more capital for computing power and research as it prepares a possible Shanghai listing, narrowing the funding gap with US rivals that have each raised far more.

Data as of Bloomberg News reporting of October 22, 2026, read in full via El Fondo and Dealroom News the same day. All figures rest on people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg; DeepSeek, Tencent and CATL have not confirmed the round, and one account put the total at about $13.8 billion on a different conversion, so the size is reported, not verified. Developing item.

DeepSeek, the Hangzhou based artificial intelligence developer, has raised about 100 billion yuan, roughly $15 billion, after lifting its fundraising target at least twice, from an initial 50 billion yuan to 80 billion and then to the final total, Bloomberg News reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Tencent and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., known as CATL, were among the largest investors in the round.

The raise follows a first external round of more than $6.8 billion in June and, if the reported figures hold, takes DeepSeek’s total capital raised this year above $20 billion. Reports say the money is earmarked for model research and computing power, and that the company is restructuring ahead of a possible initial public offering on Shanghai’s Star Market.

DeepSeek raises about $15 billion from Tencent, CATL and others

Sources