DeepSeek’s Fundraising Story
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DeepSeek’s Fundraising Story
DeepSeek is regarded as a potential candidate to become the largest A-share listed company in China, and investors hold high expectations for it.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAuthor: Liu Jing, TechFlow
Information about DeepSeek’s fundraising has been widely circulated.
The known details are not repeated here by TechFlow. What follows are some previously unreported stories and anecdotes we have gathered.
The Legendary Four-Hour Meeting
Let’s begin with that investor meeting—the much-discussed “four-hour meeting.”
In mid-May, DeepSeek hosted this online meeting using Tencent Meeting. By then, most participating investors had already been selected, with two representatives allowed per institution.
Liang Wenfeng spoke first, followed by a Q&A session where investors posed questions and Liang responded.
Rumor has it that one corporate venture capital (CVC) investor asked questions for ten minutes straight: beginning with an extended self-introduction, followed by three lengthy questions. The atmosphere grew momentarily awkward—a scenario easy to imagine. Some attendees whispered to each other, trying to identify who the speaker was.
Liang remained unfazed and answered every question carefully. Though after answering the second question, he momentarily forgot the third—prompting the investor to repeat it.
Prior to this meeting, many of these investors—even those already committed—had never met Liang Wenfeng in person. This was thus their first direct interaction with him, leaving many with a lingering sense of resonance long after the meeting concluded.
Liang Wenfeng’s memorable quotes and ethos began circulating across the market.
Restraint and AGI
Liang Wenfeng is not an especially eloquent speaker, nor does he speak quickly—but several lines from that meeting have since become oft-quoted (paraphrased; original wording may vary slightly):
“We have no fame or influence—we’re just an ordinary group of people.”
“What resonates with me is the narrative of ordinary people accomplishing extraordinary things. For DeepSeek, our top priority is team stability—more critical than capital or resources. It’s both our greatest risk and our biggest challenge.”
“Assume AGI accounts for 20% of GDP: those aiming for 5% will lose to those aiming for 1%; those aiming for 1% will lose to those aiming for 0.1%.”
“We focus exclusively on work that advances intelligence—nothing else.”
“AGI is big enough on its own; everything else is merely process.”
Throughout the four hours, Liang repeatedly emphasized the same core themes: single-minded pursuit of AGI; “less is more”; restraint; and so on.
From RMB 5 Billion to RMB 1.5 Billion
Formal fundraising officially kicked off in April this year. Reportedly, a so-called “fund white list” existed—comprising institutions with proven funding capacity and strong brand recognition.
Initially, DeepSeek required a minimum investment of no less than RMB 5 billion, prohibited syndication of shares, and insisted on a purely RMB-denominated structure.
Against this backdrop, one prominent investor—widely rumored early on to participate but ultimately absent—reportedly withdrew due to prior attempts to sell shares to Middle Eastern limited partners (LPs).
In China, however, very few market-driven funds can commit RMB 3 billion in a single transaction. Consequently, several VCs repeatedly negotiated whether participation could be split across multiple fund entities.
Ultimately, the minimum fund contribution was lowered to RMB 1.5 billion, and fundraising structures became more flexible.
There was also speculation that preferred participants should not have invested in other large language model (LLM) companies. This criterion was likely unrealistic—the contradiction being obvious: a top-tier fund that hadn’t backed any LLM company simply doesn’t exist.
At the investor meeting, Liang Wenfeng stated DeepSeek would even assist other companies—including other LLM firms—as long as they refrained from poaching DeepSeek talent.
Monolith
Monolith Lisi Capital appeared early on the investor list. The change? Initial commitment stood at RMB 1.5 billion; final commitment rose to RMB 3 billion.
This increase reportedly coincided with adjustments to Guozhi Investment’s allocation, freeing up some share space—as evidenced by Guozhi’s RMB 980 million commitment, seemingly calibrated just under the RMB 1 billion threshold.
Regardless, bold betting remains Cao Xi’s hallmark—already demonstrated with Kimi.
Monolith is likely the youngest VC among this round’s investors.
Zhengxin Valley
Zhengxin Valley may be the most surprising name on the final list.
Many interpreted its participation as stemming from missed opportunities during China’s LLM wave—thus a heightened desire to “get on board.” According to our sources, however, Zhengxin Valley did invest in Kimi—at a valuation estimated between USD 6 billion and USD 10 billion. Still, relative to its fund size, this represented only a modest allocation.
Market speculation suggests Zhengxin Valley’s founder, Lin Lijun, having originated from public markets, enjoys closer ties with Huanfang. Yet in practice, quantitative trading and discretionary investing represent fundamentally distinct communities—and even divergent value systems—in the secondary market.
According to our understanding, this investment came about not only through Lin Lijun and his partner Ye Chunyan, but also thanks to vigorous efforts by a newly joined investor.
Zhengxin Valley was also among the earliest VCs to initiate discussions with DeepSeek.
Will DeepSeek Be Sequoia and Hillhouse’s Biggest Miss?
Now comes the most surprising part of this deal.
Early rumors indicated Hillhouse would join, committing RMB 5 billion. Zhang Lei reportedly told friends on multiple occasions that, since 2025, he’d maintained regular contact with Liang Wenfeng—sometimes even visiting Liang’s home when in Beijing.
Later, however, this evolved into: Hillhouse wouldn’t participate, but Zhang Lei personally would invest. Explanations cited include timing mismatches with Hillhouse’s fundraising cycle—or regulatory constraints.
In the end, neither Zhang Lei nor Hillhouse appeared on the final list.
As for Sequoia China, it was widely assumed from the outset that it wouldn’t participate. The most prevalent explanation centered on concerns regarding overseas LPs. We confirmed this interpretation with numerous individuals close to Sequoia, all echoing similar sentiments—though alternative theories also circulate.
The outcome? Both Sequoia and Hillhouse—two firms almost universally expected to appear—were entirely absent. A senior attorney told us: “In theory, RMB-structured companies cannot hide their investors.”
Among established VCs, only IDG Capital participated.
This prompted a question posed to us: Could DeepSeek become Sequoia and Hillhouse’s biggest miss?
That’s hard to judge. But according to our sources, DeepSeek may not limit itself to just this single round.
100 Institutions and Individuals
The official investor list names only ten participants. Yet TechFlow conducted preliminary due diligence on fund entities—and found far more actual contributors.
For example, Puquan Capital—a CVC outside CATL’s ecosystem—draws backing from municipal state-owned capital (Xiamen, Ordos), CATL-related entities, and the National Green Development Fund.
Several IDG Capital funds involved in this transaction exhibit strong insurance capital characteristics, accounting for a disproportionately high share of the RMB 3 billion total. Additional contributors include Nongfu Spring and Septwolves.
Monolith’s current LP base comprises provincial and municipal SOEs from Zhejiang and Shanghai provinces, plus publicly listed firms such as By-Health and Yanghe Brewery.
iHealth is also among the participants—and indeed serves as an LP behind numerous GPs.
A rough estimate, applying basic de-duplication after shallow-level entity tracing, suggests nearly 100 institutions or individuals participated in DeepSeek’s current round.
Top Requirement: No Talent Poaching
We won’t detail DeepSeek’s investment terms here—except to add one key point: Whether dealing with tech giants or VC funds, Liang Wenfeng’s foremost requirement is clear—no poaching of DeepSeek personnel, nor encouragement of them to launch startups.
“China’s Largest Public Company”
Returning to fundamentals: What’s DeepSeek’s probability of success, viewed purely as an investment?
One participating investor voiced existential concern: Could this be an overly consensus-driven bet? Industry experience suggests consensus often yields underwhelming outcomes.
Yet such logic hardly applies to DeepSeek—or rather, DeepSeek defies simple investment frameworks. Its significance transcends financial metrics—whether measured by impact on China’s AGI industry or its broader philosophical resonance.
As one investor put it: “They’re acting with profound goodwill. It feels like they’re reminding us: ‘This is how the world should be.’”
So while some hesitate, others feel compelled: “We can’t find a single reason not to invest.” If IPO expectations materialize, could DeepSeek become China’s largest A-share-listed company?
Low Profile, Grand Ambition
Tracking DeepSeek’s fundraising progress evokes a striking impression: To most observers, DeepSeek is truly an unexpected answer—even the most competitive investors didn’t anticipate its openness to external capital.
As noted earlier, most renowned investors only recently initiated contact with the company. Objectively speaking, Liang Wenfeng has long avoided investor meetings.
Thus, when news broke, many institutions didn’t even attempt to secure participation. Yet in the end, some succeeded through strategic alignment; others through deep domain insight; still others through brand ethos—or sheer persistence.
TechFlow attempted to interview several investors—but most declined extensive commentary. Transaction sensitivity is only one factor; more significantly, many seem to feel honored to be involved—and consciously preserve DeepSeek’s low-key ethos.
One investor shared that he treasured every document from the transaction, hoping someday to frame them. Another repeated twice the sixteen-character motto released alongside DeepSeek V4’s preview: “Unswayed by praise, undeterred by slander; walk steadfastly on the path, uphold integrity within.”
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