DeepSeek reportedly raises $15B days after US restrictions

In Brief

6:11 AM PDT · October 22, 2026

Just two days after the U.S. ordered federal civilian agencies to remove DeepSeek’s AI technology from their systems over security concerns, the Chinese AI lab has raised about $15 billion, about 100 billion yuan, one of the biggest funding rounds in the country, Bloomberg reported.

Potential investors include Chinese battery maker CATL and Tencent, the company behind WeChat, among others, according to the report.

The reported funding follows DeepSeek’s investment round in June, when it raised more than $7 billion at a valuation of $50 billion. The company was also reportedly seeking an additional $1.5 billion at a valuation of around $71 billion in July, with plans for a potential IPO in China as early as next year.

The Hangzhou-based AI startup is ramping up spending on AI infrastructure and open models for domestic and international markets, even as it...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to techcrunch.com. To see the full text click HERE