China’s state-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, known as the “Big Fund,” is in talks to lead DeepSeek’s first fundraising round at a valuation of about $45 billion, with investors including Tencent also in discussions, though the lineup is not finalized. Founder Liang Wenfeng, who controls about 89.5% of the company, may also invest personally, and while the initial goal was a smaller raise to support employee retention via stock options, the higher valuation could lead t

China’s state-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, known as the “Big Fund,” is in talks to lead DeepSeek’s first fundraising round at a valuation of about $45 billion, with investors including Tencent also in discussions, though the lineup is not finalized. Founder Liang Wenfeng, who controls about 89.5% of the company, may also invest personally, and while the initial goal was a smaller raise to support employee retention via stock options, the higher valuation could lead to a larger funding round to expand computing capacity.