DeepSeek has completed its first round of funding, raising over $7.4 billion, with a valuation exceeding $500 billion, while the founder retains absolute control.

According to Dongcha Beating monitoring, Chinese AI lab DeepSeek has completed its first round of over 50 billion yuan (about $7.4 billion) in financing, surpassing a $50 billion valuation. This financing adopted an unconventional transaction structure where external investors did not directly invest in DeepSeek; instead, they contributed to a limited partnership company managed by CEO Liang Wenfeng to ensure the founder retains absolute control of the company. Apart from national funds, all investors face a 5-year share lock-up period during which they cannot transfer or sell their equity.

In terms of funding sources, founder Liang Wenfeng personally invested 20 billion yuan, Tencent invested 10 billion yuan, CATL invested 5 billion yuan, and JD, NetEase, and IDG Capital each invested 3 billion yuan. The only exception is the China National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, which directly invested 1 billion yuan in DeepSeek, not only holding voting rights but also not subject to the 5-year lock-up period. Apart from the national fund, external investors have no voting rights, only have access to specific financial information, and enjoy preemptive rights for subsequent financing rounds.

This new round of financing marks a significant shift in DeepSeek's operational model. Since its founding in 2023, DeepSeek, as an AI team under Magic Square Quantitative, has been operating with its own funds, maintaining research independence due to a lack of commercial pressure. However, under the pressure of funding and talent retention, Liang Wenfeng and the team initiated financing in April and conducted a thorough investigation into the limited partners behind the investors to prevent the ownership from falling into the hands of unknown investors.