Which top-tier investment firms have invested in the hundred-billion-yuan DeepSeek?

On October 22, it was disclosed that DeepSeek has completed a financing of approximately 1 trillion RMB (150 billion USD), setting a new single-round financing record in China's AI industry. What is truly worth delving into in this deal is not the amount itself, but the shareholder list that emerged alongside the financing.

On October 22, Bloomberg disclosed that DeepSeek has completed a financing of approximately 1 trillion RMB (150 billion USD), setting a new single-round financing record in China's AI industry. 

What is truly worth delving into in this deal is not the amount itself, but the shareholder list that emerged alongside the financing. Stony Creek Capital, SMIC PE, CATL, Tencent, Geely Auto Industrial Fund, IDG, Legend Capital, CPE Yuanfeng, Shixiang, Lisi — ten names, ten types of industrial genes, which together form a capital map showing China's AI sector evolving from "single-point technological breakthroughs" to "whole industrial chain collaboration". 

When overseas parties habitually attribute DeepSeek's competitiveness to its "low-cost model", this list reveals a deeper signal: the next stage of competition for China's AI industry will not lie in model parameters, but in industrial depth. 

1. From 500 Billion to 1 Trillion

The advancement process of this round of financing itself conveys clear signals. According to media reports, DeepSeek initially planned to raise 500 billion RMB, then raised the target twice amid competition from various capitals, and finally locked in approximately 1 trillion RMB. Adding the first round of financing in June, the total capital raised within half a year reached about 1.5 trillion RMB. The fact that the financing target was "raised higher" rather than "shrunk" is not common in the 2026 primary market environment. 

What is more noteworthy is the capital contribution structure of new and old shareholders. Existing shareholders Tencent and CATL each added approximately 100 billion RMB, while new industrial capital covers key links from memory chips, wafer manufacturing to complete vehicle manufacturing. This is not a story of financial investors chasing market trends, but a systematic layout by industrial capital. 

The role of founder Liang Wenfeng is also critical. In the first round of financing, he personally contributed about 200 billion RMB, making him the largest single contributor. Sources say the transaction structure has set a five-year lock-up period, and external investors do not have voting rights. Liang Wenfeng retained control over the company's strategic direction while introducing huge amounts of capital. 

This structure of "founder's heavy stake + industrial capital support + centralized control" is rare among AI companies in Silicon Valley. There has long been tension between OpenAI's non-profit structure and its deep tie-up with Microsoft, while Anthropic tries to balance investor returns and its mission through a long-term benefit trust. DeepSeek's choice is closer to the "chain leader" logic in China's traditional manufacturing industry, where core figures grasp the general direction, and industrial chain partners get what they need. 

2. The "Full Chain of Domestic AI" in the Shareholder List 

If we only look at the financing amount, the 150 billion USD still lags behind the cumulative financing of over 1000 billion USD each for OpenAI and Anthropic. But the value of this shareholder list lies in that it converts funds into "interfaces" on the industrial chain. 

Storage and Manufacturing. Stony Creek Capital is backed by GigaDevice, and SMIC PE is backed by SMIC. Memory chips and wafer manufacturing are the two cornerstones of the large model computing power infrastructure. The simultaneous entry of these two industrial CVCs means that DeepSeek's computing power expansion is no longer just a matter of "purchasing cards", but has obtained systematic access to the domestic semiconductor industrial chain. Against the background of continuous restricted access to high-end GPUs, this collaborative link of "storage - manufacturing - model" has more strategic weight than pure US dollar funds. 

Manufacturing and Scenarios. CATL contributed about 50 billion RMB in the first round and plans to add 100 billion RMB in this round, with its total contribution ranking first among industrial capitals. A power battery enterprise betting on large models with greater efforts than internet giants points to the implementation space of AI for Science in scenarios such as material R&D, intelligent manufacturing, and energy storage scheduling. 

The entry of Geely Auto Industrial Fund is more direct: intelligent cockpit, in-vehicle Agent, autonomous driving, these scenarios require model capabilities, while DeepSeek needs mass production and implementation. The tie between complete vehicle CVCs and model companies is forming a new paradigm for China's intelligent mobility ecosystem. 

Internet and Capital Network. Tencent contributed 100 billion RMB to become one of the largest external investors, while it is still developing its Hunyuan large model. This two-pronged layout of "self-development + investment" is not contradictory among large technology companies, but for DeepSeek, Tencent's cloud computing power, traffic entrances and commercial scenarios are real strategic resources. 

In addition, IDG Capital contributed about 30 billion RMB in the first round and also took a heavy stake in Moonshot AI Kimi. Lisi Capital (Cao Xi) and Shixiang Technology (Li Guangmi) have distinct HSG-related backgrounds. Head investors making "multiple bets" across many large model companies reflect a judgment: China's large model track is still in the stage of multi-route parallel development, and capital patience is more important than betting on a single winner. 

3. Countdown to Listing?

While the financing is completed, DeepSeek's IPO path is becoming clear. In September, Yan Wentao, former partner of GL Ventures, took the position of CFO, ending the company's three-year history without a chief financial officer. The company has contacted CITIC Securities to prepare for listing on the STAR Market, and is expected to submit the application as early as the end of the year. At the policy level, the China Securities Regulatory Commission extended the fifth set of STAR Market listing standards to the AI large model sector in June 2026, opening the channel for unprofitable enterprises. 

This means that the significance of this shareholder list goes beyond the primary market. A-share listed companies including GigaDevice via Stony Creek Capital, SMIC via SMIC PE, Legend Holdings via Legend Capital, and Geely Auto via its industrial fund, their indirect shareholdings in DeepSeek will form a transmission chain of "industrial investment - business collaboration - capital appreciation" in the process of IPO advancement. But what is more noteworthy is the signal at the institutional level. If DeepSeek lands on the STAR Market as the "first AI large model stock", it will open up a public market financing channel for subsequent Chinese AI enterprises, allowing patient capital in the primary market to obtain exit paths, and giving secondary market investors the opportunity to participate in this technology race. 

150 billion USD is a huge sum of money, but measured against the scale of the global AI arms race, it is not enough for DeepSeek to catch up with its US counterparts in absolute computing power. 

What truly gives this financing structural significance is the industrial organization method revealed by the investor list: A model company, through equity ties, connects domestic chip manufacturing, storage, batteries, complete vehicles and internet traffic at the same time. Whether this collaborative model of "chain leader + industrial capital" can be transformed into continuous technological output and commercial returns still needs time to verify. 

But at least from the perspective of capital allocation, China's AI is taking a different path from the United States. It does not pursue the infinite expansion of a single company, but tries to use the collective depth of the industrial chain to hedge against the shortcomings of a single link. Whether this path can work, DeepSeek's shareholder list is the first answer sheet worthy of serious consideration.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "Financial Gossip Girl Channel" (ID: baguanvpindao), the author is Ji Shan, and 36Kr publishes it with authorization.