DeepSeek said to hire Citic Securities for STAR Market IPO amid rising funding valuation rumors
According to an exclusive Reuters report, DeepSeek has hired Citic Securities to prepare for an IPO on Shanghai's STAR Market, with plans to start the listing process this year. The company is currently in due diligence; the offering timeline, size, and target valuation are all undetermined, and neither DeepSeek nor Citic Securities has commented. This is the first report that the Chinese AI firm known for its low-cost large models is heading to the domestic capital market.
Confirmed
- Reuters-sourced news: Citic Securities will sponsor DeepSeek's STAR Market IPO, with the process starting this year and due diligence underway (added by @创业邦).
- Founder Liang Wenfeng reportedly hopes IPO proceeds will fund employee incentives to retain talent (via @zephyrz9, citing Reuters).
- Funding background: DeepSeek raised about $7.4 billion in June at a post-money valuation of roughly $52 billion; @创业邦 cites prior funding of about 51 billion yuan at a valuation near 400 billion yuan.
- Per @创业邦, DeepSeek simultaneously announced Flash series price cuts and will release V4.1 Flash around September 10.
Unconfirmed
- The new funding round's valuation varies by source: $71 billion pre-money, up 37% in a month (@teortaxesTex); $75 billion (@markk); or on the order of 500 billion yuan (@智东西). All are rumors, none confirmed.
- The IPO timeline and target valuation remain undisclosed.
Why it matters
- Even with terms requiring a 5-year lockup and no voting rights, investors are still fighting for allocations, reflecting intense demand (@teortaxesTex).
- @zephyrz9 notes commentary that a Hong Kong listing would be more international, but choosing the A-share STAR Market signals a domestic capital path, a bellwether for Chinese AI firms' financing and talent incentives.
2026-09-09 ~ 2026-09-10 · 6 related posts
Primary sources
- [source] Exclusive: DeepSeek hires CICC rival CITIC to prep Shanghai STAR Market IPO — zephyr_z9 · 2026-09-09
- DeepSeek reportedly raising at ~$71B pre-money valuation, up 37% in a month — teortaxesTex · 2026-09-09
- [source] DeepSeek taps CITIC Securities for Shanghai STAR Market IPO, valuation could hit $70B — 智东西 · 2026-09-09
- DeepSeek reportedly preps STAR Market IPO with CITIC, raising at $75B valuation — mark_k · 2026-09-09
- DeepSeek hires CITIC Securities for domestic IPO, sources say — pstAsiatech · 2026-09-09
- [source] DeepSeek eyes STAR Market IPO, cuts Flash prices and teases V4.1Flash launch around Sept 10 — 创业邦 · 2026-09-10