Chinese AI startup DeepSeek closed a staggering second funding round of roughly 100 billion yuan (nearly $16 billion), more than doubling its initial target and bringing its pre-money valuation to $74 billion. State-owned institutions and government-backed funds accounted for 27% of the massive round—a significant jump from past financing—underscoring Beijing’s direct financial backing of critical national AI champions. Prominent existing private backers like Tencent and CATL remained leading investors, joined by critical domestic hardware and memory players such as SMIC and ChangXin Memory to help offset U.S. export controls. Reports indicate that DeepSeek doubled the size of its capital raise to build a massive financial buffer against soaring black-market prices for advanced high-performance Nvidia hardware. To maintain operational agility while accepting heavy state and corporate backing, the company structured major equity stakes through specialized founder-controlled vehicles with strict long-term lock-up provisions.

Full report : Chinese artificial intelligence champion doubles its financing target to navigate hardware scarcity, bringing state-backed institutions deeper into its capital structure.