Tencent Backs DeepSeek in $12B+ Round After Tencent Music Integration

Tencent Music integrated DeepSeek into its streaming service. Now parent company Tencent is among the biggest backers of the AI company’s $12B+ funding round (report)

October 7, 2026 By Murray Stassen

China-based AI company DeepSeek is close to raising at least RMB 80 billion (USD $12 billion) in a new funding round, with Tencent Holdings among its biggest backers.

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That’s according to Bloomberg , which reported the round on Tuesday (October 6) , citing people familiar with the matter.

Tencent is the controlling shareholder of Tencent Music Entertainment (TME), which integrated DeepSeek into its music streaming service in 2025.

Tencent and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) “have committed among the largest amounts” in the financing, the report said.

Investor appetite grew after DeepSeek released its latest AI model, pushing the round past its original target of around RMB 50 billion ($7.5 billion), the report’s sources said.

Signed term sheets suggest the round could end up near RMB 100 billion ($15 billion), the sources added.

Reuters , citing its own sources, separately reported that DeepSeek is on track to raise more than RMB 80 billion and is expected to close the round this month.

DeepSeek originally sought a valuation of around RMB 500 billion ($75 billion) in the round, though terms could still change, Bloomberg said.

The company is targeting a stock market listing in early 2027 and is expected to restructure for it once the round closes, the outlet added.

CATL declined to comment, Tencent had no immediate comment, and DeepSeek did not respond to Bloomberg .

The new round follows DeepSeek ‘s first external fundraise, which closed this summer and valued the company at around RMB 350 billion ($52 billion), according to the report.

Founder Liang Wenfeng put around RMB 20 billion ($3 billion) of his own money into that round, while Tencent was the largest outside investor at RMB 10 billion ($1.5 billion), Bloomberg has reported.

DeepSeek , which grew out of Liang Wenfeng’s hedge fund High-Flyer , sparked a tech stock sell-off when it unveiled its chatbot in January 2025.

Tencent wants to build AI into its platforms, the report said.

Tencent Music Entertainment , which operates QQ Music , Kugou Music , Kuwo Music , WeSing , and Ximalaya , disclosed its DeepSeek integration on an earnings call in March 2025 .

CEO Ross Liang said DeepSeek had been built into TME’s AI songwriting tool, AI assistant, comment sections, and recommendation pages.

In its 2024 annual report , published the following month, TME said it had integrated DeepSeek’s large language models “to empower users and creators in song creation”.

More recently, in its Q2 2026 earnings report , TME said AI agents in its QQ Music and Kugou Music apps now create personalized playlists on the fly, and that it had integrated with Tencent’s Weixin XiaoWei AI assistant.

In the same release, TME Executive Chairman Cussion Pang said: “As the industry evolves, we continue to champion copyright protection, foster a healthy ecosystem, and safeguard the value of creative work.”

The International Confederation of Music Publishers ( ICMP ) has previously accused DeepSeek of reproducing copyrighted song lyrics.

In a LinkedIn post on January 31, 2025 , ICMP Director General John Phelan said DeepSeek “falls into the category of AI companies choosing to scrape the internet’s content” and alleged that it used protected music commercially without licenses.

Phelan also shared a video he said showed DeepSeek producing the lyrics to songs including Taylor Swift ‘s Love Story and Ed Sheeran ‘s Shape of You . Music Business Worldwide

_Originally reported by [Music Business Worldwide](https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/tencent-music-integrated-deepseek-into-its-streaming-service-now-parent-company-tencent-is-among-the-biggest-backers-of-the-ai-companys-12b-funding-round-report/)._