DeepSeek Investment Allocation Demand Triggers Sky-High Intermediary Fees and Strict Terms
Reports reveal intense market demand for investment shares in Chinese AI unicorn DeepSeek, with intermediaries charging upfront fees of up to 18% and 35% performance fees. Investors face strict conditions set by DeepSeek, including a five-year lockup period, no voting rights, and thorough identity checks on all limited partners. The extreme terms and speculative intermediary frenzy highlight intense market FOMO and heavy capital concentration around leading Chinese AI developers. It demonstrates that top-tier AI labs hold unprecedented bargaining power over venture capital despite burning massive capital on compute infrastructure. DeepSeek's strict investor screening led to market chaos with fake allocation claims and middleman scams alleging personal connections to founder Liang Wenfeng. Financially, DeepSeek generated about 475 million RMB in revenue in the first seven months of 2026 while spending roughly 11 billion RMB on AI infrastructure and chips.
## BACKGROUND
DeepSeek is an artificial intelligence company launched in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, the founder of quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer Quant. Initially operating without external fundraising by relying on High-Flyer's compute resources, DeepSeek later opened high-profile funding rounds attracting major corporate investors such as Tencent and CATL. China's AI investment ecosystem has recently seen similar intermediary speculation around top generative AI startups.