DeepSeek · 2026-05-06 · rumor
DeepSeek in Talks at $45B Valuation — China's 'Big Fund' Leading First Major Fundraise
FT reports China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund — Beijing's state-backed semiconductor vehicle — is leading talks to put DeepSeek's first major fundraise at roughly $45B, instantly placing it among the most valuable AI companies globally.
FT and Bloomberg report Beijing's chip fund is leading talks that would value DeepSeek at ~$45B in its first major outside fundraise.
Key specs
| Valuation | ~$45B |
|---|---|
| Lead investor | China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (Big Fund) |
| Round status | in talks |
What is it?
DeepSeek, the Hangzhou-based lab behind DeepSeek V4 and V4 Pro, is in negotiations for what would be its first major outside funding round. The Financial Times broke the story; Bloomberg confirmed via its own sources. Talks center on a roughly $45B post-money valuation, with the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund — known as the 'Big Fund' and historically Beijing's vehicle for semiconductor investment — leading the round.
How does it work?
The Big Fund was set up in 2014 to anchor China's domestic chip industry; bringing it in as lead AI-lab investor is unusual and signals state coordination between compute supply and frontier model labs. Per the FT, the structure and co-investors are not yet finalized. DeepSeek has historically been funded by quant firm High-Flyer rather than venture capital.
Why does it matter?
If completed at $45B, DeepSeek would jump into the same tier as Anthropic and xAI by valuation, and become the first frontier AI lab visibly bankrolled by Chinese state capital. The deal would also tighten the link between DeepSeek and the same fund that backs SMIC and Huawei's chip ambitions — relevant context for the NIST CAISI evaluation released last week.
Who is it for?
AI-policy watchers, China-tech investors, anyone tracking the open-weights race