Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is reportedly preparing to raise $7 billion in its first external funding round, which could value the company between $52 billion and $59 billion. Tencent Holdings is expected to invest around $1.48 billion, while CATL and its founder are likely to contribute about $740 million. DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng is also expected to commit nearly $2.96 billion of his own capital. The funding round sharpens China’s bid to build a self-reliant artificial intelligence ecosystem, reflecting a wider effort to create an AI ecosystem that can stand on domestic capital, domestic industrial networks, and domestic semiconductor capabilities. DeepSeek gained international attention after its V3 and R1 models challenged the belief that advanced AI systems require enormous development budgets.