Liang Wenfeng tells prospective investors the Hangzhou lab will prioritise frontier research over revenue, in its first-ever external raise.
DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng has told prospective investors in the company’s first outside funding round that the lab intends to pursue artificial general intelligence as a primary goal, and will keep releasing open-source models rather than chase short-term commercialisation.
Bloomberg reported the messaging on Friday, in coverage of an ongoing 70 billion yuan (roughly $10bn) raise.
That figure represents the valuation DeepSeek is reportedly targeting, rather than the cheque size. The startup is seeking at least $300m in external capital in this round, according to. The Information has separately written that the longer-term ambition could reach $7bn or more as the lab moves toward recurring revenue.
The current round is the first time Liang has accepted outside money.
