CATL Plans to Invest in DeepSeek Amid AI Infrastructure Pus
China’s dominant electric vehicle attery manufacturer, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. widely known as CATL is planning to invest in DeepSeek, the Chinese AI startup that rattled global tech markets earlier this year. The move signals a significant strategic expansion for CATL beyond its core battery business, according to The Information, which cited two people with direct knowledge of the discussions.
A Mega Round That Could Resape Chinese AI
DeepSeek’s ongoing initial funding round targets raising about 50 billion yuan ($7.36 billion) and could close as early as June. If completed, DeepSeek’s overall valuation could exceed 350 billion yuan making it the largest fundraise ever for a Chinese AI company. DeepSeek founder anld CEO Liang Wenfeng expected to provide the largest single chunk of funding in the round. CATL’s intent to invest in DeepSeek places it alongside other major Chinese firms pursuing stakes in the company, including tech giants JD.com and NetEase, which are currently in talks to acquire stakes, as well as Tencent and Alibaba. None of these deals have been finalized.
The decision by CATL to invest in DeepSeek rooted in commercial logic. The battery maker is actively seeking to sell power supply equipment to massive AI data centers, driven by the surge in computing power demands across the industry. DeepSeek itself is expanding aggressively planning to build a large-scale data center in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia, where low temperatures and abundant electricity help reduce server cooling costs.
DeepSeek rose to global prominence after releasing its open-source model R1 in January 2025, trained at a fraction of the cost of its US rivals. It now plans to release a V4.1 model update in June.
