DeepSeek reportedly seeks first funding round at $45 billion valuation

China’s state-backed semiconductor investment vehicle, known as the Big Fund, is in talks to lead DeepSeek’s first external fundraising, which could value the AI company at about $45 billion, according to the Financial Times. Tencent is also among the investors still in discussions, though the final lineup has not been decided. The reported valuation is up sharply from about $20 billion only weeks ago, as investors look to back DeepSeek despite its limited commercial focus.