Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has reached an annualised revenue run rate of $1 billion, more than doubling from just a few months ago, according to The Information, citing two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
The figure highlights the rapid commercial growth of DeepSeek, whose AI models have attracted global attention and challenged assumptions about China’s ability to develop advanced artificial intelligence. A revenue run rate estimates how much a company would generate over a year if its current pace of revenue continued.
DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng reportedly shared the latest revenue figure at a recent meeting with investors. The company is also pursuing a second funding round targeting 50 billion yuan ($7.45 billion) at a valuation of 500 billion yuan, with the fundraising expected to progress by the end of October. DeepSeek is also preparing for a potential listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, according to The Information.
The company’s revenue growth was partly driven by increases in the prices of access to its AI models, with The Information reporting price increases of between 2.3 and 4.5 times. DeepSeek continues to devote most of its computing resources to developing new models, with more than 70% of its computing capacity reportedly allocated to training.
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