DeepSeek Hires CITIC Securities to Prepare for STAR Market IPO in China
DeepSeek has reportedly retained CITIC Securities to prepare for an initial public offering (IPO) on Shanghai's STAR Market, aiming to file its application within the year and complete listing next year. The AI company is also seeking a new funding round targeting a valuation of around 500 billion RMB. An IPO at this valuation would make DeepSeek one of the highest-valued public AI firms globally, reflecting intense market demand for top-tier generative AI infrastructure. The raised capital will directly fund large-scale compute expansion, custom chip R&D, and next-generation model development. DeepSeek generated approximately 475 million RMB in revenue in the first seven months of 2026, nearly 10 times its full-year 2025 revenue. Founder Liang Wenfeng is personally vetting final investor lists to clean up multi-layered Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) secondary structures and mitigate corporate governance risks prior to filing.
## BACKGROUND
The STAR Market (Ke創板) was created by the Shanghai Stock Exchange to support high-tech companies with crucial core technologies, allowing flexible listing standards for tech enterprises. Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) are financial entities often established to pool investment funds, though multi-tiered SPVs can create opaque ownership structures that complicate IPO regulatory checks.