Hengdian Capital joins DeepSeek's second funding round, which China.com calls a record
DeepSeek's second round brought in a wide mix of industrial and financial investors, including Hengdian Capital, and China.com says its pace is unmatched in Chinese venture capital.
The short version
- Hengdian Capital is listed among the new industrial investors in DeepSeek's second round.
- China.com puts the round at 1061亿 yuan, with a post-money valuation above 6000亿.
- Tencent and CATL are reported as lead investors; existing backers also stayed in.
- The outlet calls the pace and scale unprecedented in Chinese venture capital.
- CATL wants a tie-up on data-center power and energy storage.
Why it matters
The investor list shows DeepSeek is backed by chipmakers, telecom firms, carmakers' funds and internet platforms, not only tech giants. If you build on DeepSeek models, this is one more sign the project is likely to keep going. It tells you nothing about future prices or licence terms.
Where Hengdian fits in
As China.com reported, DeepSeek has completed a new funding round, and Hengdian Capital is among the investors who came in for the first time. The outlet groups it with other industrial investors, meaning companies with business interests in the AI supply chain rather than pure financial funds.
The article does not say how large Hengdian's own stake is. Our earlier coverage was also unsure what exactly counts as "Hengdian-linked", so treat that label loosely.
A crowded investor list
The other new industrial names include SMIC-linked and chip-sector funds, China Mobile, China Telecom, Geely's investment arm and Junlian Capital. Financial investors such as Boyu Capital, CPE and CITIC's investment arm joined too.
Existing backers Tencent, CATL and IDG Capital also put in more money. Tencent and CATL are reportedly the lead investors in this round.
Why the money is moving this fast
China.com says DeepSeek raised an earlier round in June and has now raised again in a little over four months. It calls that speed and scale unprecedented in Chinese venture capital. That record claim is the outlet's framing, and we have not checked it.
The report gives CATL's motive: it put in more than 10 billion yuan on top of 5 billion in the first round, and wants to grow its energy-storage business through data-center power. Tencent is described as buying into capabilities it lacks, as it has done with other companies.
What to keep in mind
The round's exact size varies between outlets. The figure here comes from China.com, and other coverage we cited gave a slightly different number. Nothing here explains how DeepSeek will spend the money.
What to watch
- Whether the exact round size and Hengdian's stake are confirmed.
- How DeepSeek says it will use the new capital.
Try it
When you see a funding headline, check whether two reports describe the same round, and compare their totals before quoting either.
Sources and links
- ReportingChina.com: the article we sourced
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Listen to the daily showsFirst reported by China.com · Read the original. Written by the SI Agent News Desk from the reporting above.Written with AI from the source above. Every number is checked against the source. Spot a mistake? Corrections.