Citing four people familiar with the talks, the Financial Times said the proposed deal would mark DeepSeek’s first major fundraising effort, positioning it among the most highly valued frontier AI labs globally if the negotiations succeed.
The involvement of China’s flagship semiconductor investment fund signals Beijing’s continued push to strengthen domestic leadership in artificial intelligence and advanced chip-related technologies. The fund has long played a central role in channeling capital into strategic semiconductor and computing initiatives intended to reduce reliance on foreign technology.
DeepSeek, which has quickly emerged as one of China’s most closely watched AI developers, is part of a broader wave of domestic firms racing to build large-scale language models and compete with leading Western systems. A valuation of around $45 billion would place it firmly in the upper tier of global AI startups, reflecting strong investor confidence in its technology trajectory and national strategic importance.
While details of the financing structure remain under discussion, the potential deal underscores intensifying competition in the global AI sector, where funding rounds are increasingly being shaped not only by commercial prospects but also by geopolitical and technological priorities.