CATL and Tencent back DeepSeek's expanded funding round, IPO planned for early 2027

CATL and Tencent back Deepseek's ballooning funding round as the AI startup eyes a 2027 IPO

DeepSeek is close to closing at least $12 billion in new funding, with CATL and Tencent contributing the largest shares, and plans to restructure after the round to prepare for an IPO in early 2027. Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, says the total could approach $15 billion, above the original target of about $7.5 billion at a valuation of roughly $75 billion.

Why it matters: DeepSeek is building a Huawei-chip data center while raising new money and preparing to list, and its founder still plans to release models with open weights.