On the evening of July 16, a progress announcement by listed company Kairun (300577) unexpectedly disclosed the latest market valuation of leading domestic AI company DeepSeek. Based on the announcement data, DeepSeek's post-funding valuation has climbed to approximately 351 billion yuan.
A source close to DeepSeek confirmed that following completion of this round, the company has already initiated a second round of financing, though whether it will pursue a STAR Market listing by year-end remains unconfirmed.
According to the announcement, Kairun's wholly-owned subsidiary Ningbo Purun Investment Partnership invested 40 million yuan of its own funds to acquire a stake in Tianjin Lisi Xingling Venture Capital Partnership, which has a total paid-in capital of 2.9 billion yuan. Lisi Xingling has indirectly invested the full 2.9 billion yuan in Hangzhou DeepSeek AI Basic Technology Research Co., Ltd., holding an indirect 0.8265% equity stake. This calculates DeepSeek's overall valuation at approximately 350.877 billion yuan.
On the same day, Tangchen Bejian disclosed that it indirectly holds 0.04% of DeepSeek through Lisi Xingling, with an investment of 130 million yuan. This implies a DeepSeek valuation in the range of 325 billion to 350 billion yuan.
According to the UK's Financial Times on July 14, DeepSeek completed its first external funding round in late May, raising approximately $7 billion, with about $3 billion from founder Liang Wenfeng, at a post-money valuation of $52 billion (approximately 352.578 billion yuan). The report also stated that DeepSeek plans to raise funds again at a pre-money valuation of $71 billion (approximately 481.404 billion yuan).
According to Bloomberg and other media citing sources familiar with the matter, DeepSeek has formally initiated IPO preparations, planning to submit an A-share listing application as early as late 2026, targeting a 2027 listing. Prior to the IPO, DeepSeek plans to raise at least 10 billion yuan in the private market.
In early June 2026, DeepSeek completed its first external funding round totaling approximately 51 billion yuan (about $7 billion), setting a record for a Chinese tech startup's first round. Major investors included Tencent (10 billion yuan), CATL (5 billion yuan), JD.com, NetEase, and IDG Capital, with the National AI Industry Investment Fund contributing 1 billion yuan. Founder Liang Wenfeng personally contributed 20 billion yuan as the largest single investor.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Liang Wenfeng's current net worth is approximately $36 billion (about 244 billion yuan), an increase of $19.9 billion year-on-year, making him one of the wealthiest AI model founders globally.