DeepSeek is seeking $300M in initial external funding at a $10B valuation

DeepSeek is seeking its first round of external funding at a valuation of at least $10 billion, according to a report by The Information. A Chinese AI startup plans to raise at least $300 million as it seeks to step up competition in the race to build advanced AI models.

The company has so far been fully backed by its parent, Chinese hedge fund High Flyer Capital Management, as DeepSeek develops its models. That may change now that DeepSeek has begun discussions with foreign investors after previously turning down funding offers from some of China's largest venture capital firms and tech companies.

DeepSeek's reported $10 billion target still puts it below the AI ​​market's peak. OPNAI said in February that it was raising $110 billion in funding that would have valued the company at $840 billion, a figure that later rose to $852 billion in early April.

Anthroponic, meanwhile, raised funds at a valuation of $380 billion in February, with some investors reportedly floating offers worth up to $800 billion for the cloud maker this week.

DeepSeek's R1 model has attracted widespread attention in the past year after garnering a lot of attention in both Silicon Valley and Wall Street. The reported fundraising push means the company now needs a bigger capital base to stay ahead of the increasingly expensive AI race.