DeepSeek Readies IPO In Shanghai Next Year

“SINGAPORE -- China's artificial-intelligence heavyweight DeepSeek is preparing for an initial public offering as early as the second quarter of next year to bankroll its costly research and fuel growth, people familiar with the matter said.

 

DeepSeek is discussing with investors and banks a listing in Shanghai, the people said. It is aiming to file the IPO paperwork by the end of this year, they said.

 

Last month, the Hangzhou-based company raised $7.4 billion in its maiden external funding round, where investors valued it at more than $50 billion.

 

Earlier this month, founder Liang Wenfeng also began talking with prospective investors to raise more money in a new funding round, the people said. Liang has sought to raise capital at a valuation of $71 billion or more, some of them said.

 

Investor interest in DeepSeek is running high, and the startup expects to pull in several billion dollars in the looming round, the people said.

 

However, Liang has been selective in choosing backers to ensure that commercial interests don't interfere with DeepSeek's long-term push in frontier AI research, they said.

 

Chinese AI companies are racing to lock in capital to fund their costly research and data-center expansions. Anxiety has rippled through the country's AI circles following the April debut of Anthropic's powerful Mythos system. Industry executives and researchers say China's AI industry risks stalling in its race with the U.S. unless it gets a further influx of capital.

 

Pitching investors in May, DeepSeek's Liang said the startup could lose momentum if it lacks the funds to retain top talent and expand its computing infrastructure. Until recently, DeepSeek had largely relied on Liang's personal wealth and capital from a hedge fund he co-founded.

 

"In the China context, we're very underinvested in infrastructure and in the AI supply chain," Joe Tsai, chairman of Chinese internet and AI giant Alibaba, said in June in Paris.

 

TikTok parent ByteDance is in talks to borrow $20 billion in what could be its largest loan outside China as it ramps up AI spending, people familiar with the plan said. Beijing-based Zhipu AI recently raised $4 billion through a share sale following its January IPO. Its market capitalization has since surged more than 10-fold to top $90 billion.

 

Chinese regulators have recently relaxed rules to allow AI startups to list on a Nasdaq-like market in Shanghai even if they aren't profitable.

 

DeepSeek's IPO timeline is subject to change and regulatory clearance, the people familiar with the DeepSeek plan said.

 

In its last funding round, DeepSeek drew backing from a state fund focusing on AI as well as tech giant Tencent and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology. Last month, DeepSeek announced a hiring push, seeking to double its workforce across core teams.

 

The company didn't respond to a request for comment.

 

Bloomberg and the Financial Times earlier reported some details of DeepSeek's fundraising plans.” [1]

 

1. DeepSeek Readies IPO In Shanghai Next Year. Huang, Raffaele.  Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 16 July 2026: B1.