DeepSeek is set to raise more than $11.9 billion before a planned IPO, Reuters reports. Moonshot AI is valued at $50 billion, OpenAI seeks $30 billion at $1.4 trillion, and Anthropic eyes a November IPO.
DeepSeek funding is set to top $11.9 billion, and US rivals are chasing valuations measured in trillions.
Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is set to raise more than 80 billion yuan ($11.93 billion) in its latest round. Reuters reported the figure on October 6, citing one person with knowledge of the matter.
The money builds a war chest ahead of a domestic IPO.
How Big Is the DeepSeek Funding Round?
DeepSeek began the fundraising in July. It targeted a valuation of 500 billion yuan, or $74 billion.
That came a month after it raised about $7.4 billion in its first external round. Reuters says the second round has drawn massive interest.
Committed capital exceeds the original target of 50 billion yuan, the source said. Two sources expect the round to wrap up in October.
The DeepSeek funding drew interest from existing and new investors. Bloomberg first reported the raise. It said the final tally could reach 100 billion yuan, with Tencent and battery maker CATL among the largest commitments.
CoinDesk, citing Bloomberg, says demand could lift the raise to around $15 billion.
CoinDesk ties the financing to DeepSeek’s V4 Flash model release. It says the model strengthened DeepSeek’s competitiveness against OpenAI and Anthropic on cost and performance.
What Is DeepSeek Building With It?
DeepSeek recently partnered with Huawei to build programming tools tuned for Huawei’s Ascend AI chips. Reuters says it points to China’s push to reduce reliance on Nvidia.
Last month DeepSeek released DeepSeek-V4.1-Flash, Reuters says. The company says it offers greater capability, faster inference and higher throughput.
It has hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a possible STAR Market IPO. Timing, valuation and size remain undecided, Reuters reported last month.
Who Else Is Raising?
Moonshot AI, maker of the Kimi chatbot, has completed its final private round at a $50 billion valuation. CoinDesk says it is targeting a Hong Kong IPO in the first quarter of 2027.
That listing could raise up to $5 billion. Annual recurring revenue is expected to reach $2 billion by December, double its current level.
Both Chinese companies are targeting listings in early 2027, one at home and one in Hong Kong.
In the US, OpenAI plans to raise at least $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion pre-money valuation. That was reported last week, after its IPO delay.
Bloomberg names possible investors including BlackRock and UAE funds. Together they could contribute up to $10 billion.
CoinDesk adds that Anthropic is eyeing an IPO in November, after the US midterm elections. The potential valuation is around $2 trillion.
How Does Miami Compare?
Miami’s largest AI valuation sits at a different scale. MAIN reported that Miami's OpenEvidence reached a $15 billion valuation in September.
That is a fraction of DeepSeek’s $74 billion target. It is about one percent of OpenAI’s $1.4 trillion ask.
The listings also matter to local investors. MAIN has covered OpenAI's plan to go public by 2027.
That coverage looked at how South Florida’s venture and private wealth communities face decisions on IPO exposure.
MAIN has also covered how Anthropic's IPO prospectus will flag the AI backlash as a risk.
Chinese models are also already in American workflows. MAIN reported on China's cheap AI models already running inside American companies.
That story put DeepSeek-V4-Pro at 87 cents per million output tokens against $50 for comparable US systems. It said US companies routed 46% of certain AI traffic to Chinese open-weight models in 2026. A year earlier the share was 11%.
The research side of the race is covered in China's lead in AI research papers. That post also ties the story to Carnegie Mellon's Miami campus.
DeepSeek funding is one data point in a larger pattern. Capital is flowing to both sides of the US-China race.
Public listings planned for 2027 will put a market price on it.
Sources:
- "DeepSeek set to net over $12 billion in new fundraising, source says," Reuters
- "Chinese AI funding surges as US rivals pursue trillion-dollar valuations," James Van Straten, CoinDesk, October 6, 2026
- MAIN: Miami's OpenEvidence hits $15 billion valuation
- MAIN: OpenAI targets a 2027 IPO, possibly sooner
- MAIN: Anthropic's IPO prospectus will flag the AI backlash as a risk
- MAIN: China's cheap AI models are already running inside American companies
- MAIN: China has more AI papers. Miami is getting a $2B campus.