DeepSeek Doubles Annual Revenue Run Rate to $1 Billion Ahead of IPO

DeepSeek has more than doubled its annualized revenue run rate, bringing it to a staggering $1 billion, The Information reported on September 23, citing unnamed sources. DeepSeek CEO Liang Wenfeng disclosed this figure to investors, stating that demand for DeepSeek’s models remained unaffected by a recent price increase. The company raised prices for its models by 2.3 to 4.5 times, but still offers among the most competitive pricing for major AI models.

This announcement comes as DeepSeek finalizes a second funding round and prepares for an IPO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, aiming to raise 50 billion yuan (approximately $7.5 billion) at a valuation of 500 billion yuan (roughly $75 billion). The company's revenue surged tenfold since 2025, with DeepSeek generating about 475 million yuan (around $70.7 million) in the first seven months of the year, compared to roughly 475 million yuan (about $70.7 million) for all of last year, according to unnamed sources.

DeepSeek gained prominence in early 2025 with the launch of an AI model that matched the performance of U.S. competitors while requiring far fewer Nvidia chips. Following an August price adjustment, DeepSeek introduced peak-hour pricing for its flagship V4 models, quadrupling the rates while maintaining lower costs than its main competitors.