September 9, 2026, (Inside AI) — Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a domestic initial public offering on Shanghai's STAR Market, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
The Hangzhou-based company aims to begin the IPO process this year. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions are private.
Engaging CITIC signals that DeepSeek is advancing its listing plan. Mainland China listings typically require securities firms to provide pre-listing tutoring before a formal application.
The offering's timing, fundraising target, and valuation remain undecided, the sources said. DeepSeek and CITIC did not respond to requests for comment.
The move comes as DeepSeek seeks fresh capital for computing infrastructure, model development, and talent retention amid intensifying competition among Chinese and U.S. AI firms.
Funding Race Intensifies Before Listing
DeepSeek is in the middle of a funding round that would value it at 500 billion yuan ($75 billion). The startup raised about $7.4 billion in June at a post-money valuation exceeding $50 billion, according to sources and investor filings.
In that June round, founder Liang Wenfeng personally committed 20 billion yuan. Tencent Holdings and battery maker CATL invested 10 billion yuan and 5 billion yuan respectively, becoming the largest external shareholders.
Rivals at home and abroad are also rushing to public markets. Chinese large language model developers Z.AI and MiniMax listed in Hong Kong earlier this year. Beijing-based Moonshot has filed confidentially for a Hong Kong IPO, valued at $50 billion.
Those valuations trail U.S. peers. Anthropic could be valued up to $2 trillion in its IPO, while OpenAI could reach $1 trillion. The gap reflects a sharp revenue disparity, underscoring Chinese AI developers' challenge in converting competitive technology into profit.
Anthropic plans to launch its offering in mid-October and complete the listing before the U.S. midterm elections in November, according to sources.
Talent Retention Emerges as Core Driver
Founder Liang hopes IPO proceeds will help DeepSeek offer stronger incentives to retain key staff and researchers. The company has recently lost talent to better-funded rivals, including ByteDance and Xiaomi.
DeepSeek's domestic listing choice stands out. Most Chinese AI peers have opted for Hong Kong, which offers international investors and more flexible listing rules. Choosing the STAR Market signals a preference for mainland capital and possibly state-backed support.
The STAR Market, launched in 2019, was designed for technology companies. It allows unprofitable firms to list with weighted voting rights, a structure that could help Liang retain control after the IPO.
DeepSeek's valuation trajectory has been steep. From $50 billion in June to a targeted $75 billion now, the company has doubled its implied worth in months. Yet it still trails U.S. rivals by an order of magnitude.
Industry analysts note that Chinese AI firms face a structural revenue gap. Domestic enterprise adoption has been slower, and pricing pressure is intense. DeepSeek's open-weight models have won developer mindshare but monetization remains unclear.
The IPO filing, once submitted, will reveal financial details that have so far been private. Investors will scrutinize revenue growth, compute costs, and customer concentration.
For now, the engagement of CITIC is the clearest sign that DeepSeek is moving from private funding to public markets. The next milestone will be the formal tutoring period and subsequent application to the Shanghai Stock Exchange.
