Chinese AI company DeepSeek is reported to be finishing one of the largest funding rounds in China, and the reports came two days after the US government ordered federal civilian agencies to remove its technology. As of 22 October 2026, the funding figures rest on anonymous sources, and the round is not described as final.

Map showing where Hangzhou is
Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People's Republic of China

What is reported about the round

Reuters reported on 22 October that DeepSeek is wrapping up its latest round, having generated about 100 billion yuan ($14.98 billion) from existing and new investors. It cited four people with knowledge of the matter, who declined to be named because the information is confidential. Reuters also said Bloomberg first reported on Thursday, citing sources, that DeepSeek had raised $15 billion with CATL and Tencent as its main backers. TechCrunch's report, which also credits Bloomberg, put the figure at about $15 billion, or about 100 billion yuan. Citing Bloomberg, it described this as one of the biggest funding rounds in the country.

The reports differ in how firmly they name the backers. Reuters says two of its sources described battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) and WeChat operator Tencent Holdings as among the biggest investors. TechCrunch, citing Bloomberg, says only that potential investors include the two.

Reuters named further investors:

  • New to DeepSeek in this round: Midea (home appliances), Meituan (food delivery), Geely (automaker) and GigaDevice (semiconductors).
  • Others: Boyu Capital, CPE and Legend Capital, plus existing shareholder IDG Capital, according to three of the sources.
  • Number of investors: one source said it exceeded 15.

According to a second person cited by Reuters, the round is set to complete in the coming days, but the financial details and the investor lineup could still change. Reuters said DeepSeek, CATL and Tencent could not be immediately reached for comment, and the other firms named did not immediately respond to requests for comment. TechCrunch said DeepSeek did not immediately respond to its request.

The valuation and the size of the raise

Reuters said the round values DeepSeek at 500 billion yuan before new capital is injected, as it has reported before. It also said the company will have doubled its original fundraising target of 50 billion yuan. Neither the Reuters nor the TechCrunch piece gives a post-money figure.

TechCrunch placed the round in sequence. It reported that DeepSeek raised more than $7 billion at a $50 billion valuation in June. It also said the company was reportedly seeking a further $1.5 billion at a valuation of around $71 billion in July, with a potential IPO in China as early as next year.

The IPO thread

Reuters said the fundraising suggests DeepSeek is getting closer to public markets. In an exclusive on 9 September, Reuters reported that DeepSeek had hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a potential IPO on Shanghai's STAR Market. Its two sources said the company aimed to begin the IPO process this year. They also said the timing, the amount to be raised and the target valuation had not been determined.

The US order

On 20 October the Department of Homeland Security published a notice in the Federal Register (Document 2026-21447, 91 FR 66346, Docket No. DHS-2026-0628). It announces an order from the Secretary of Homeland Security with two parts:

  • excluding information technology products and services developed by Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence Co., Ltd, including affiliated entities as defined in 48 CFR 2.101, from federal civilian agency procurements;
  • removing all DeepSeek and DeepSeek-affiliate products, and third-party products and services developed using DeepSeek implementations, from civilian agency information technology.

The notice cites the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018 (41 U.S.C. 1321-1328) as its authority. It says the order followed review of a Federal Acquisition Security Council recommendation and affiliated evidence. It is signed by James H. Percival II, DHS General Counsel.

TechCrunch's report on the order, dated 20 October, adds context it attributes to the order and to DHS. It said the order raised concerns about DeepSeek's handling of user data, warning that sensitive information from US government users could potentially be accessible to Chinese authorities under Chinese law. It also reported that agencies can request exceptions. The notice's summary and supplementary information do not use the phrase "national security"; the signed order itself is reproduced in the notice's appendix. TechCrunch attributes the national security concerns to the Department of Homeland Security.

TechCrunch said China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning, speaking on Tuesday, said Beijing opposes "overstretching the concept of national security and politicizing technology and trade issues". The spokesperson added that China would "resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises".

Background on the company

TechCrunch reported that Liang Wenfeng founded DeepSeek in 2023 after co-founding the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, which helped finance the AI company's early development. It said the company gained global attention in early 2025 with a free-to-use, open-weight reasoning model, and that Liang retains an estimated 81.6% stake in the Chinese operating entity, according to corporate ownership data analysed by WireScreen. Reuters noted that DeepSeek released its latest model, DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, last month.

What this adds up to

My view is that the two stories belong together mainly because of their timing. The notice and the funding reports address different questions, and neither source links them causally. What they show is that a US restriction on federal civilian use was published while, according to Reuters, investors were putting roughly $15 billion into the company. For now the round is a report from unnamed sources, and one of Reuters's sources said the details could still change.

Sources

Department of Homeland Security (2026) 'Notice of Order Regarding Exclusion and Removal of DeepSeek Products From Federal Civilian Executive Branch Information Technology Systems and Procurements', Federal Register, 20 October 2026, available at: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/20/2026-21447/notice-of-order-regarding-exclusion-and-removal-of-deepseek-products-from-federal-civilian-executive (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

Park, K. (2026) 'DeepSeek reportedly raises $15B days after US restrictions', TechCrunch, 22 October 2026, available at: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/22/deepseek-reportedly-raises-15b-days-after-us-restrictions/ (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

Park, K. (2026) 'US orders federal agencies to remove China's DeepSeek AI from their systems', TechCrunch, 20 October 2026, available at: https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/20/us-orders-federal-agencies-to-remove-chinas-deepseek-ai-from-their-systems/ (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

Reuters (2026) 'Exclusive-China's DeepSeek taps CITIC Securities for domestic IPO, sources say', Reuters, 9 September 2026, as carried by KELO-AM, available at: https://kelo.com/2026/09/09/exclusive-chinas-deepseek-taps-citic-securities-for-domestic-ipo-sources-say/ (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

Wu, K. (2026) 'DeepSeek wrapping up $15 billion fundraising to fuel AI race', Reuters, 22 October 2026, as carried by SRN News, available at: https://srnnews.com/deepseek-raises-15-billion-in-challenge-to-leading-us-labs-bloomberg-news-reports/ (Accessed: 22 October 2026).

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