The battle between U.S. and Chinese AI companies is increasingly becoming a race for capital, with leading firms raising multibillion-dollar sums and preparing for major public listings.
DeepSeek is reportedly close to securing at least $12 billion in new funding, with Tencent and battery manufacturer CATL among the investors, Bloomberg reported. The round could ultimately reach about $15 billion if investor demand remains strong, surpassing the company’s initial fundraising goal.
The planned financing comes after DeepSeek introduced its V4 Flash model. The new system has improved the Chinese AI company’s ability to challenge OpenAI and Anthropic, particularly in terms of cost and performance.
Moonshot AI is also moving toward the public markets. The company behind the Kimi chatbot has completed its latest and potentially final private funding round at a $50 billion valuation.
Moonshot is targeting a Hong Kong IPO in the first quarter of 2027, with the listing potentially raising as much as $5 billion. The company expects its annual recurring revenue to reach $2 billion by December, twice its current figure.
U.S. AI firms are pursuing similarly large funding rounds. OpenAI was reported last week to be seeking at least $30 billion at a $1.4 trillion pre-money valuation, following a delay to its IPO plans.
According to Bloomberg’s latest report, potential investors include BlackRock and several UAE funds. Those investors could collectively contribute as much as $10 billion to the fundraising.
Anthropic could also make a major move toward the public markets. The AI company is reportedly considering an IPO in November, after the U.S. midterm elections, with a potential valuation of approximately $2 trillion.
The scale of these funding rounds and prospective listings shows how quickly AI companies are becoming some of the most heavily financed businesses in the technology sector. It also reflects the intensifying competition between U.S. and Chinese firms to develop increasingly capable AI models.
