DeepSeek has hired CITIC Securities to prepare for an IPO on the STAR Market, with plans to launch the process within the year. The company aims to use the proceeds to expand computing infrastructure, increase investment in model research and chip self-development, and strengthen talent incentives.
The company is also pursuing a new funding round with a target valuation of approximately ¥500 billion. In June, DeepSeek completed its first external funding round, raising approximately $7.4 billion with a post-money valuation exceeding $50 billion.
Founder Liang Wenfeng contributed approximately ¥20 billion, making him the largest single contributor. Other key investors include Tencent, which invested approximately ¥10 billion, and CATL-affiliated companies, which invested approximately ¥5 billion. JD.com, NetEase, IDG Capital, and the National AI Industry Investment Fund also participated.
The new funding round includes a five-year lock-up period and no voting rights for external investors. Despite these terms, market demand remains high, leading to the emergence of secondary trading through multiple layers of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).
Some investors who secured shares have used SPVs to introduce external capital, adding markups to entry qualifications. In some cases, upfront fees for these SPVs range from 6% to over 15%, with profit sharing up to 40%, significantly higher than the typical 2% upfront fee and 20% profit share for similar SPVs.
Founder Liang Wenfeng is personally reviewing the final list of investors to verify the limited partners behind the contributions. This measure is designed to prevent shares from falling into the unknown entities and avoid governance risks that complex shareholder structures could bring to the future IPO.
