DeepSeek, revealed to be planning to raise funds for the first time. According to news from The Information, we are currently contacting investors and exploring the possibility of financing. The targetValuation exceeds $10 billion(approximately RMB 68.1 billion), and plans to raise at leastUS$300 million(approximately RMB 2 billion). But the question is, do they lack the money?
Huanfang, the parent company of DeepSeek, quantifies that the return rate in 2025 will be approximately 56.6%.
If roughly calculated based on "1% management fee + 20% performance compensation", in 2025 alone, the industry generally estimates that the magic square management fee + performance compensation income will be "RMB 5 billion/USD 700 million"This magnitude.
Liang Wenfeng has also publicly stated that DeepSeek is not short of money, has the ability to self-generate, and has no financing plans in the short term.
DeepSeek has also rejected investment invitations from many investment institutions and major manufacturers in the past.
In addition, there have been several rumors of DeepSeek financing in the past two years, but they were eventually officially denied.
Could the news this time be another cry of wolf?
Are these financing rumors credible?
Let’s look at the news itself first. The source of the information comes fromThe Information, one of the most exclusive media outlets in the American technology circle.
The report quoted "multiple people familiar with the matter" as saying that DeepSeek is seeking its first external financing and plans to raise at least US$300 million (approximately RMB 2 billion) with a target valuation of over US$10 billion.
It was later reprinted by Reuters and many other organizations, and has been widely circulated.
But people who are familiar with DeepSeek may say: Wait, haven’t we refuted rumors several times before?
This is not the first time DeepSeek financing rumors have appeared.Available as early as February 2025, the news at that time was that "tech giants such as Alibaba were rumored to express investment interest", DeepSeek clearly responded that "the financing news are all rumors."
At that time, the DeepSeek-R1 model had just become popular around the world, and the company was at the center of unprecedented public opinion.
Liang Wenfeng's public statement at the time showed a clear rejection of financing. His core concerns were that "external investors will interfere with the company's decision-making" and "many VCs have concerns about doing research. They have exit needs and hope to commercialize products as soon as possible."
By August 2025, DeepSeek financing rumors appeared again in the market, this time more specific, with an amount of "US$700 million" and a round of "Series C financing", as well as a valuation of "US$8 billion."
However, this rumor was quickly disproven, verified as an unknown source, and deleted.
This time in April 2026, as of press time, DeepSeek has not yet made any response.
If DeepSeek wants to raise funds, why?
How profitable is the magic square? The average product return rate in 2025 will be approximately 56.6%, ranking second in the quantitative private equity performance list with a scale of over 10 billion.
During the same period, the quantitative average of tens of billions of scale was only 37.61%.Magic Square is nearly 20 points ahead of its peers..
If there is no shortage of money, then what might DeepSeek be seeking financing for if the rumors are true?
The most dramatic financial impact is the anchoring of equity value.
In "self-blood supply" mode, DeepSeekAs a wholly-owned subsidiary or holding subsidiary of Huifang Quantitative, itsValue has not been determined by the market, may only be measured using the cost method or net assets method in the quantified financial statements, which cannot reflect its true business value.
The US$10 billion in external financing for the valuation is equivalent to providing a market-based pricing benchmark for DeepSeek's equity.
From this perspective, huge valuations paired with low financing seem reasonable.
It not only obtains external valuation, but also retains decision-making power to the maximum extent.
With equity value, talents can be given better incentives.
The absolute salary of DeepSeek is not low, but recently core researchersGuo Daya, Wang Bingxuan, Wei HaoranWhen he changed jobs, it was rumored that he received a higher level of salary.
Facing the increasingly fierce competition for talent, DeepSeek may also want to use valuation anchoring to give its own people reassurance.
Another point that is often overlooked: high-quality investors can bring not only money, but also computing power synergy, customer channels, and policy relationships. These "non-financial values" are completely missing from the "self-supply" model.
Qubit learned that the current exposure of DeepSeek’s financing and valuation may only be the tip of the iceberg.It is said that in the first round of financing, Liang Wenfeng personally invested 20 billion yuan, which is both a reassurance to external investors and a declaration of personal belief.
One More Thing
Now is the time when financing in the AI industry is picking up.
After the adjustment period in 2024, the global AI investment market will show a recovery trend from the second half of 2025 to early 2026, with an increase in large-scale financing cases and a rebound in valuation levels.
As an in-depth participant in the financial industry, Liang Wenfeng has certainly seen this trend and is likely to take advantage of it.