Timeline
Launched DeepSeek-R1 large language model, causing $1 trillion market valuation shift
DeepSeek valuation jumps from $20B to $45B in first VC round led by China state fund.
Released V4-Pro and V4-Flash open-weight models with up to 1.6 trillion parameters
Released DeepSeek-V4 with 1M-token context at 10% KV cache cost
Initiates first external fundraising round, targeting at least $300M at a $10B+ valuation to set a benchmark for employee stock options.
Delays to DeepSeek-V4 model due to Huawei Ascend chip compatibility work
Huawei joins Agentic AI Foundation alongside OpenAI and Google
Huawei launched Ascend 910B chip competing with Nvidia H100
Ecosystem
DeepSeek
Huawei
Evidence (6 articles)
DeepSeek V4 Launch Signals China's Strategic Shift in AI Chip Independence
Feb 28, 2026DeepSeek V4 to Run on Huawei Ascend 950PR Chips, Sparking 20% Price Surge
Apr 3, 2026rAIcast Episode 2 Analyzes DeepSeek V4, Claude Mythos, and AI Law
Apr 13, 2026DeepSeek Hits $45B Valuation in First VC Round, Led by China State Fund
May 6, 2026AI Weekly: GPT-6 Rumors, DeepSeek V4 on Huawei, Anthropic Models, Qwen 3.6-Plus
Apr 5, 2026DeepSeek Teases 'Much Larger' Base Model Release Amid Industry Silence and Hardware Challenges
Mar 25, 2026