The U.S.-China competition in artificial intelligence is driving an increasingly aggressive funding race, with major Chinese and American AI companies seeking billions of dollars as they prepare for potential public listings.
DeepSeek is reportedly nearing a funding round of at least $12 billion, with Tencent and battery manufacturer CATL backing the deal, Bloomberg reported. Strong demand from investors could push the total to around $15 billion, exceeding the company’s original fundraising target.
The capital raise follows DeepSeek’s launch of its V4 Flash model. The release has strengthened the company’s position against leading U.S. AI developers OpenAI and Anthropic, particularly when comparing model performance and costs.
Moonshot AI, which developed the Kimi chatbot, has meanwhile wrapped up its final private financing round at a $50 billion valuation. The company is planning a Hong Kong IPO for the first quarter of 2027 and could raise as much as $5 billion through the listing.
Moonshot is also seeing significant growth in recurring revenue. Its annual recurring revenue is projected to reach $2 billion by December, representing a doubling from its current level.
Across the Pacific, OpenAI is also pursuing a massive capital raise. The company was reported last week to be seeking at least $30 billion at a pre-money valuation of $1.4 trillion, following a postponement of its IPO plans.
Bloomberg has identified BlackRock and UAE-based funds among the potential investors in the round. Those investors could together provide up to $10 billion.
Anthropic is also reportedly preparing for a potential public debut. The company is considering an IPO in November, after the U.S. midterm elections, at a possible valuation of roughly $2 trillion.
The fundraising plans highlight the enormous sums now flowing into the AI sector as companies compete to build more advanced models. They also show how the U.S.-China AI rivalry is increasingly being reflected in private-market valuations, capital raises and the race toward public markets.
