DeepSeek was founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, and High-Flyer helped fund its early development, according to BGR and TechCrunch. Later reports describe a stake in one Chinese operating company and voting arrangements for the June 2026 funding round. Those are different pieces of the company’s ownership story.
A funding total measures capital raised. It does not, by itself, tell you who owns shares or has voting rights.
Liang Wenfeng and High-Flyer funded DeepSeek’s early development
BGR and TechCrunch identify Liang Wenfeng as DeepSeek’s founder and report that High-Flyer, his quantitative hedge fund, supported the company’s early work. That funding history describes support for DeepSeek’s development; it does not specify the ownership of every company in the DeepSeek group.
The June 2026 round separated investment from voting rights
Reuters reported that DeepSeek’s first outside funding round, in June 2026, raised more than 50 billion yuan. Most commercial investors reportedly put money into a limited partnership managed by Liang. Under the reported terms, those investors had no voting rights and faced a five-year lock-up, a period during which they could not withdraw their investment.
The National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund was the reported exception: it invested directly, received voting rights and was not subject to the lock-up. These terms apply to the June round.
South China Morning Post reported the following approximate contributions from selected participants:
| Participant | Approximate reported contribution |
| Liang Wenfeng | 20 billion yuan |
| Tencent | 10 billion yuan |
| CATL | 5 billion yuan |
| NetEase | 3 billion yuan |
| JD.com | 3 billion yuan |
| National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund | Nearly 1 billion yuan |
The listed estimates total about 42 billion yuan, short of the more than 50 billion yuan reported for the round. A contribution amount describes money invested; it is not an ownership percentage or a measure of voting power.
The 81.6% figure applies to one operating company
In July 2026, the outlet 财闻 reported that Liang held about 81.6% of the registered equity in 杭州深度求索人工智能基础技术研究有限公司 after a registration change. That percentage refers to this named Chinese operating company at that point in time.
Later financing and a possible listing
On October 22, Reuters reported DeepSeek’s later funding round at about 100 billion yuan ($14.98 billion), with Tencent and CATL among the largest investors and more than 15 investors involved. Reuters said the financial details and investor lineup could change.
On September 9, Reuters reported that DeepSeek had engaged CITIC Securities to prepare for a possible listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market, with a plan to begin the process in 2026.
