DeepSeek allegedly told investors to suspend its second round of funding

According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter revealed that China AI company DeepSeek has told potential investors that the second round of financing is currently suspended. One reason for the suspension was founder Liang Wenfeng's dissatisfaction with media reports of private conversations with investors during the round of funding, which was completed in June and raised $7 billion. DeepSeek's first-round financing investors include Tencent, Ningde Times and National AI Fund. The second round was originally planned to refinance at least 10 billion yuan, with a pre-investment valuation target of 480 billion yuan. The company has begun preparations for an IPO and may submit an application as early as this year. Negotiations are still ongoing and financing may still be restarted. Bloomberg said it had not verified the authenticity of the remarks, and DeepSeek did not respond to requests for comment.