TLDR
- DeepSeek is planning an IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market as soon as this year
- The company is seeking fresh funding at a valuation of around $74 billion (500 billion yuan)
- This follows a $7.4 billion raise in June at a $450 billion yuan valuation
- Chinese AI stocks surged on the news, with MiniMax jumping nearly 15%
- Rising AI costs are driving DeepSeek to seek outside capital after years of self-funding
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is preparing to raise fresh capital and list on China’s mainland stock market, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
BREAKING: DeepSeek is preparing for an IPO and may file as soon as this year, per Bloomberg.
Details include:
1. The company is reportedly in talks with accounting and banking advisors and the IPO is expected to be listed in China
2. DeepSeek has begun talks for a fresh…
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) July 14, 2026
The Hangzhou-based company is seeking to raise as much as 50 billion yuan in a new funding round, at a valuation of around 500 billion yuan, or roughly $74 billion. This comes just weeks after it raised $7.4 billion in June at a $450 billion yuan valuation.
DeepSeek has also begun early discussions about a potential IPO on Shanghai’s STAR Market, China’s Nasdaq-style exchange for tech companies. The company has set an internal target to complete an IPO filing this year, though plans are still at an early stage.
DeepSeek did not respond to a request for comment.
Chinese AI Stocks React
News of the IPO plans sent Chinese AI stocks higher on Wednesday. MiniMax Group surged nearly 15%, while Knowledge Atlas Tech jumped close to 9%. Both companies are part of China’s so-called “AI Tigers,” a group of startups seen as leaders in the country’s AI development push.
Knowledge Atlas Tech has risen over 1,500% so far in 2026 since listing in January. MiniMax has had a rougher run, trading down around 25% year-to-date after an initial surge.
DeepSeek itself grabbed global attention in early 2025 when its R1 model appeared to match leading US systems at a fraction of the cost. Since then, the company has released several updates, including its V4 line in April 2026, which ranked first among open-source AI models.
Rising Costs Drive Funding Push
For years, DeepSeek stood apart from rivals by rejecting outside investment. Founder Liang Wenfeng funded the company through his quantitative hedge fund, High-Flyer.
But the cost of competing at the frontier of AI has risen sharply. DeepSeek recently said it plans to double staff across departments, including in data centres and AI agents. Reuters reported earlier this month that the company is also developing its own AI inference chip and has quietly hired more chip-design engineers.
In the June funding round, Liang personally committed 20 billion yuan. Tencent contributed 10 billion yuan, and battery maker CATL put in 5 billion yuan. China’s national AI fund also participated, along with NetEase, JD.com, and several investment firms.
The involvement of the state-backed fund points to DeepSeek’s importance to Beijing’s goal of building domestic AI champions and cutting reliance on foreign technology.
DeepSeek faces strong competition at home from ByteDance, Alibaba, and well-funded rivals including Z.ai, Moonshot, and MiniMax.
The fundraising and IPO plans remain at an early stage, and terms and timelines could change.
Stop guessing and start investing with confidence. KnockoutStocks gives you the AI insights, market intelligence, and stock research you need to spot opportunities, cut through the noise, and make smarter investment decisions — all in one powerful platform.
Sign up today and get 50% OFF full access to our premium stock picks.
Simply use coupon code SPECIAL50 at checkout to claim your exclusive discount.
Get 3 Free Stock Ebooks
Discover top-performing stocks in AI, Crypto, and Technology with expert analysis.
- Top 10 AI Stocks - Leading AI companies
- Top 10 Crypto Stocks - Blockchain leaders
- Top 10 Tech Stocks - Tech giants
