DeepSeek Nears $74B Valuation, Stacking a War Chest for Compute
DeepSeek is set to raise $7.4 billion at a $74 billion valuation, roughly 50% above June's mark, as it races to fund research and a large compute buildout ahead of a possible IPO next year. Existing shareholders including battery giant CATL are injecting the capital, per people familiar. The round is a sign that even the efficiency-obsessed model lab has become a capital-hungry infrastructure company.