'Big Fund' leads investment negotiations, DeepSeek valuation approaches $45 billion

On May 6th, it was reported that China's largest state supported semiconductor investment fund is in talks to lead DeepSeek's first round of financing, and the valuation of this cutting-edge artificial intelligence laboratory may reach about 45 billion US dollars. Other investors still negotiating to invest include Chinese tech giant Tencent, but the final lineup has not yet been determined.DeepSeek's valuation has significantly increased from $20 billion when it started financing negotiations a few weeks ago, and although the company has not prioritized commercialization, investors are still competing to bet on its development potential. Two insiders said that the billionaire founder of this Hangzhou startup, Liang Wenfeng, may also personally participate in this round of financing. According to company documents, he controls 89.5% of DeepSeek's shares through personal shareholding and affiliated groups.