Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is currently in talks for a funding round aiming to secure a minimum of $300 million, propelling the company’s valuation to $10 billion, as per sources familiar with the situation cited by The Information. The company, known for its affordable AI models that disrupted the industry and caused market fluctuations last year, reportedly rejected numerous funding offers from prominent Chinese venture capital firms and tech giants in the past.
The potential funding round underscores the substantial capital needed to advance and maintain sophisticated AI models, especially with the industry moving towards more advanced reasoning systems and autonomous applications, according to a report by Reuters. DeepSeek has not yet responded to Reuters’ request for comment, and the news agency noted its inability to independently verify the information.
Earlier this year, Reuters disclosed that DeepSeek had not showcased its flagship model to American chipmakers for performance enhancements. Additionally, it was revealed that one of the company’s newer models was trained on Nvidia’s cutting-edge chip, despite restrictions on such usage due to export regulations. China has been advocating for local firms to embrace domestically produced processors to reduce reliance on foreign technology.
