China Backs DeepSeek at $50 Billion Valuation

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, is raising capital at a $50 billion valuation from government-backed investors. China's National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund, with about $8.8 billion in assets, is in advanced negotiations to join this investment round. The Hangzhou-based company aims to raise several hundred million dollars. DeepSeek's latest upgraded version, V4, uses Nvidia's powerful processors and was developed in partnership with Chinese chip manufacturers such as Huawei. The firm makes money through subscription payments for the use of its computational power through an API. Beijing considers DeepSeek an infrastructure for technological independence, and the new AI fund will be the foundation of government support for their AI firms.