Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has paused its next fundraise, suspending talks for what Bloomberg reports would be a roughly 500 billion yuan ($74 billion) valuation. Bloomberg stated that Hangzhou-based DeepSeek told prospective investors it was suspending the round, signaling some agreements wouldn’t be signed in the next few days. The company raised about $7.4 billion in its first round. Bloomberg linked the pause partly to founder Liang Wenfeng’s frustration with online reports about comments he made to investors, as leaks can raise “execution risk” in late-stage private rounds. Reuters separately reported that DeepSeek has begun early deliberations about a potential listing on Shanghai’s Nasdaq-style STAR Market.