DeepSeek nears $12 billion raise ahead of planned 2027 STAR Market IPO
In brief
- DeepSeek is close to raising at least $12 billion before a 2027 IPO, Bloomberg reported.
- Shanghai's STAR Market is the reported venue for the Hangzhou AI lab's planned listing.
- A second round reportedly values DeepSeek at about $74 to $75 billion pre-money.
- DeepSeek's annualized revenue run rate reportedly stood at $1 billion as of September 2026.
Two rounds in one year
DeepSeek closed its first external funding round in June 2026, raising about $7.4 billion at a post-money valuation of more than $50 billion, according to the report. Founder Liang Wenfeng put roughly $3 billion of his own assets into that round.
That's a big shift for this lab. DeepSeek was founded in 2023 as a spin-off from High-Flyer (the hedge fund Liang runs), and High-Flyer bankrolled it alone for three years before outside investors were let in during 2026.
A second round is now in final talks. It reportedly values DeepSeek at about 500 billion yuan before the new money goes in (roughly $74 to $75 billion). The reporting doesn't describe that round as closed.
The API business
So what's behind the price tag? As of September 2026, DeepSeek had an annualized revenue run rate of $1 billion, more than double its earlier figures, according to the reports. Much of that growth came from its API business, which lets developers build DeepSeek's models into their own products.
The reports say API price increases ranged from 2.3x to 4.5x, and they put the API unit's gross margin at 82.9%.
LeoDex News hasn't independently verified any of these figures.
IPO prep and the chip question
DeepSeek has brought on CITIC Securities as lead underwriter and appointed a new chief financial officer, according to the reports. Both moves line up with the planned STAR Market listing.
Crypto Briefing also wrote that DeepSeek's models have gained traction rivaling US labs, despite American export restrictions on semiconductor technology. The company's response, per that report, has been to run its models on domestic Huawei hardware. It's also leaned into open-source releases and research, which is a different playbook from some of the closed labs it's measured against.
None of the reported numbers (the $12 billion raise, the second-round valuation or the API margins) have been confirmed by DeepSeek in the reporting LeoDex News reviewed.
Frequently asked questions
Where is DeepSeek planning to go public?
DeepSeek is reportedly preparing for a listing on Shanghai's STAR Market in 2027, according to Bloomberg as relayed by Crypto Briefing. The reports say it has brought on CITIC Securities as lead underwriter and appointed a new chief financial officer.
How does DeepSeek make most of its revenue?
According to the reports, much of DeepSeek's revenue growth came from its API business, which lets developers build its models into their own products. The reports put its annualized run rate at $1 billion as of September 2026 and the API unit's gross margin at 82.9%.
