DeepSeek’s valuation approaches $4.5 billion; China’s “Big Fund” plans to lead its Series A financing round

According to a Reuters report citing the Financial Times, China’s largest state-backed semiconductor investment fund—the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund (“Big Fund”)—is negotiating to lead DeepSeek’s Series A financing round, which could value the cutting-edge AI lab at approximately $45 billion. Citing four people familiar with the matter, the report states that negotiations are still ongoing.