DeepSeek Resumes Mega Funding Round to Bankroll Ambitious AI Expansion

The Chinese AI lab has restarted its second funding round, seeking close to $8 billion at a pre-money valuation of around $70 billion, according to Bloomberg — days after its V4-Flash model topped global rankings. The cash will fund a major expansion of computing capacity.

Key Takeaways

The Chinese AI lab has restarted its second funding round, seeking close to $8 billion at a pre-money valuation of around $70 billion, according to Bloomberg — days after its V4-Flash model topped global rankings.
The cash will fund a major expansion of computing capacity.

AI synthesis4 sources10

DeepSeek, the Chinese AI lab that has shaken up the global model race with its open-weight releases, is back on the fundraising trail.

Bloomberg reported on Thursday that the company has resumed its second funding round and is looking to raise close to $8 billion at a pre-money valuation of around 500 billion yuan — roughly $70 billion. The move follows a pause announced in July, when the startup told backers it was holding off on new financing after a wave of viral social media posts.

The timing is telling: Chinese media report that DeepSeek's V4-Flash model recently topped global AI leaderboards, and the Wall Street Journal says the lab plans to roughly double its workforce as fresh funding fuels growth. Earlier this year, DeepSeek closed its first external funding round of more than $7.4 billion, valuing the company above $50 billion.

The new capital is earmarked for an ambitious expansion plan, including a significant increase in computing capacity — the resource that has become the currency of the AI race. The round also underscores that even China's most celebrated efficiency champion ultimately needs the same thing as its Western rivals: vastly more chips and data centers to keep pushing the frontier.