DeepSeek Raises $15 Billion in Landmark Funding Push to Challenge Global AI Leaders

Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has secured approximately $15 billion (100 billion yuan) in fresh funding, one of the country's largest venture rounds ever, signaling aggressive expansion to compete with U.S. AI powerhouses including Anthropic and OpenAI. The Hangzhou-based company closed the oversubscribed round with major investors including battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL), WeChat operator Tencent Holdings, chipmaker GigaDevice, food delivery company Meituan, and automaker Geely, with more than 15 investors participating in total. The funding push, expected to finalize within days, comes just 48 hours after U.S. federal civilian agencies moved to remove DeepSeek's technology from government systems citing security concerns.