DeepSeek and China AI funding fever; Moonshot AI Kimi K3 triggers chip sell-off; US startups race to compete
Key Questions
What funding round is DeepSeek raising?
DeepSeek confirmed a $7.4B funding round at a $52-59B valuation. It is now building its own inference chips to reduce reliance on foreign hardware.
How much did Moonshot AI raise?
Moonshot AI raised $2B at a $30B valuation amid China's AI funding surge. This reflects strong investor interest in domestic large language models.
What data center milestone did Z.AI achieve?
Z.AI completed a 1GW data center using domestic Chinese chips and acquired Zhongke Jiawei for cross-chip software. Its GLM-5.2 model reportedly tops GPT 5.5 benchmarks.
DeepSeek raising $7.4B at $52-59B, building own inference chip. Liang Wenfeng sees open-source as loss leader. Moonshot AI $2B at $30B, releases Kimi K3 openly, triggering chip stock sell-off. Manus-Meta deal unwinding, Tencent circling. Tencent Q2 CapEx 2.8x YoY. Asia Q2 startup funding $42.8B (+424% China YoY). DeepSeek raises API prices 1,100%, contrasting with OpenAI/Anthropic cuts. India AI buildout accelerating. China Telecom leads embodied AI startup Mifeng's round. China's AI bubble framed as industrial policy with state-dominated capital.