DeepSeek Eyes a $1.5 Billion Raise at a $71 Billion Valuation

On July 16, 2026, several news outlets reported that Chinese AI lab DeepSeek is in talks for a second funding round that would raise roughly 1.5 billion dollars at a valuation of about 71 billion dollars. The deal, if it closes, would come only weeks after the company finished its first external round, which was worth more than 50 billion yuan and valued DeepSeek at around 52 billion dollars. Unlike the first round, which was led by founder Liang Wenfeng and a small group of Chinese backers, the new round is expected to be more open. DeepSeek is now willing to accept direct investment from outside funds and may even bring in overseas capital through a special structure aimed at Middle Eastern investors. Sources say the five-year lock-up that protected the first round will be relaxed in this second deal. The money will be spent almost entirely on compute. The company is hiring engineers to design its own gigawatt-scale data centers, placing large orders for AI chips, and reportedly exploring a custom inference chip to reduce its reliance on foreign suppliers. Founder Liang's personal net worth has now crossed 36 billion dollars, making him one of the richest founders in the global AI industry. Analysts say the rapid back-to-back rounds show how expensive the race to build AI agents has become. Agent products need many rounds of reasoning, which burns through far more compute than a simple chatbot. By locking in compute and talent early, DeepSeek hopes to reach a public listing on China's STAR Market by 2027, putting it on the same stage as its American rivals.