tech
DeepSeek founder declares AGI as the goal as $10bn funding round advances
Liang Wenfeng tells prospective investors the Hangzhou lab will prioritise frontier research over revenue, in its first-ever external raise.
TL;DR
- DeepSeek is conducting its first external funding round, seeking at least $300 million.
- The company's reported valuation target is $10 billion.
- Founder Liang Wenfeng stated the lab's primary goal is artificial general intelligence (AGI).
- DeepSeek will continue to release open-source models and prioritize frontier research over immediate revenue.
- The V4 family models are optimized for both Nvidia and domestic Chinese hardware like Huawei Ascend and Cambricon silicon.
- The company's previous approach was to be self-funded by founder Liang Wenfeng's quantitative trading firm, High-Flyer Quant.