Abstract:
The Chinese AI laboratory is making every effort to advance its second round of financing, according to two people familiar with the company’s financial data. In the first seven months of 2026, DeepSeek achieved revenue of approximately 475 million yuan (equivalent to US$70.7 million), which is approximately ten times its full-year revenue in 2025 (i.e., a 9-fold increase).
Two people familiar with the matter added that DeepSeek's net loss in January-July this year was approximately 715 million yuan, while the net loss for 2025 would be 935 million yuan. The company is negotiating with existing investors and new investors on this round of financing, and plans to raise 50 billion yuan with a target valuation of 500 billion yuan.
DeepSeek has not yet responded to an email request for comment.
In the first seven months of this year, DeepSeek’s overall gross profit margin was 44.6%; the gross profit margin of external model call services through API was as high as 82.9%. For comparison: OpenAI's first-quarter revenue was US$5.7 billion, with a gross profit margin of 39%; Anthropic's second-quarter revenue was US$11.5 billion, and its gross profit margin is expected to increase from 40% in 2025 to 63% in 2026.
The above-mentioned revenue and operating data, which have not yet been publicly disclosed, reflect the significant business growth in recent months. The media reported last month that DeepSeek’s annual revenue has reached the range of US$400-500 million.
The rapid revenue growth is expected to boost this round of financing negotiations and pave the way for a subsequent potential IPO. The company just completed its first round of 50 billion yuan in financing in June and immediately launched its second round of financing; it has hired an investment bank to prepare for its listing next year.
Rising revenue is driven by the continued expansion of the DeepSeek open source model. Its flagship V4 series, especially the lightweight version V4‑Flash, is popular among developers around the world for its low cost and solid performance.
DeepSeek has recently taken measures to further boost revenue. Earlier this month, the company raised API interface pricing. Taking the flagship V4‑Pro model as an example, the output price per million tokens has been raised to US$3.96 during peak hours and US$1.98 during off-peak hours, which is much higher than the previous level of US$0.87.
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