DeepSeek Eyes 2027 IPO, Targets $71B Valuation in Fresh Fundraise Just 6 Weeks After $7B Round
DeepSeek, the Chinese AI company that shocked the industry last year with a model matching top-tier US systems while using far less compute, is preparing to go public. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg, the company has engaged accounting and banking advisors and plans to file for an IPO in mainland China by year-end 2026, with an eye toward listing in 2027. The timing is remarkably fast: just six weeks after closing a $7 billion funding round in early June—its first external capital—DeepSeek is already back in the fundraising market targeting a valuation of at least 480 billion yuan (~$71 billion), up from the $50 billion valuation in June.
The new round is targeting at least 10 billion yuan (likely larger), with capital expected to fund expanded computing capacity and push into agentic AI. The June round included heavyweights Tencent, battery maker CATL, and Beijing's National AI Industry Investment Fund, a state-backed vehicle signaling strategic importance to China's AI ambitions. DeepSeek notably runs its cloud service on Huawei chips rather than NVIDIA, circumventing US export controls on advanced semiconductors. Founder Liang Wenfeng's net worth more than doubled post-June round, jumping to $36 billion and surpassing Dario Amodei and Greg Brockman in personal wealth.
The IPO plans underscore how Chinese AI labs are being positioned as strategic assets in the US-China AI race. DeepSeek's efficiency breakthrough (tokens processed through Vercel: 23% in June, second only to Anthropic) made it one of the world's most widely used AI systems in under 18 months. Management has signaled commitment to open-source releases and long-term AGI focus over near-term monetization. For architects: DeepSeek's capex race and Huawei-stack infrastructure show how geopolitical constraints are reshaping global AI compute allocation.
Sources
- Primary source
- techweez.com
“The Chinese AI company has started working with accounting and banking advisors on an IPO. According to people familiar with the matter who spoke to Bloomberg, the plan is to file in mainland China by the end of this year, with an eye toward actually listing in 2027”
- techweez.com
“Just weeks after closing a $7 billion funding round in early June, its first ever from outside investors, DeepSeek is already back in the market talking to new backers, targeting a valuation of at least 480 billion yuan, or roughly $71 billion”
- techweez.com
“In June alone, DeepSeek accounted for nearly 23% of all tokens processed through Vercel, an AI gateway used by enterprises, putting it just behind Anthropic's 32% share”