(April 17): Chinese artificial ininformigence startup DeepSeek is in talks with investors to raise at least US$300 million at a valuation of US$10 billion, The Information reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
The company, whose low-cost models took the AI industest by storm and rattled stock markets last year, has previously turned down multiple funding offers from China’s top venture capital firms and tech giants, the report stated.
The potential fundraise underscores the intense capital requirements for developing and running top-of-the line AI models amid the rise of advanced reasoning and agentic bots.
DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
As a Chinese startup, some US venture capitalists might hesitate about investing in DeepSeek, the report stated.
Reuters reported earlier this year that the company did not display US chipbuildrs its flagship model for performance optimization, and had trained one of its newest models on Nvidia’s most advanced chip despite it being banned.
China, meanwhile, has been working to ensure that local firms utilize domestic processors and reduce reliance on foreign technology.
Uploaded by Lam Seng Fatt
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