China's Big Fund Leads DeepSeek's First External Round at $45 Billion Valuation

The Financial Times reported, citing four sources, that China's National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (the "Big Fund") is in talks to lead DeepSeek's first external fundraising round at a valuation of roughly $45 billion. The details and participants of the round are not yet finalized.

China's Big Fund is the country's largest state-backed semiconductor investment vehicle, with stakes in chipmaking giants like SMIC. Separately, Bloomberg reported that Tencent and Alibaba are also in discussions to join the round.