China’s DeepSeek hires dealmaker as CFO ahead of possible IPO

Sept 14 (Reuters) – DeepSeek plans to hire Yan Wentao, a partner at venture-capital firm GL Ventures, as its first chief financial officer, two people with ‌knowledge of the matter said, as the Chinese AI startup prepares for a ‌potential initial public offering.

Reuters reported last week that Hangzhou-based DeepSeek had hired Chinese brokerage CITIC Securities to prepare ​for a possible listing on Shanghai’s technology-focused STAR Market.

A CFO typically plays a central role in managing investor communications, financial controls, capital allocation and disclosure processes required for a listing.

The appointment of Yan, who has dealmaking experience, to the role would be a significant step ‌in DeepSeek’s transformation from a ⁠research-focused lab bankrolled by its founder’s hedge fund into a more conventional corporate structure.

The sources on his planned appointment could not be named ⁠because they were not authorised to speak publicly on the issue.

GL Ventures is the venture-capital arm of Hillhouse Investment, an investment firm founded by China-born investor Zhang Lei that focuses on ​sectors including ​technology, biotech, and consumer industries. Hillhouse is not ​an investor in DeepSeek.

DeepSeek and Hillhouse ‌did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Yan could not immediately be reached for comment.

Yan was born in 1991, according to Chinese venture-capital publication Zero2IPO, which lists AI developer and DeepSeek rival MiniMax among his representative investments.

DEEPSEEK RAISES CAPITAL AND INVESTS IN TALENT

As the global race to dominate AI accelerates, DeepSeek is in an ongoing fundraising round ‌that values it at about 500 billion yuan ($74 billion), ​Reuters reported in July.

In June, it raised about $7.4 ​billion at a post-money valuation of ​more than $50 billion.

It has also increased spending on computing infrastructure, chip development, ‌and talent.

Early last year, the company ​made global headlines when ​it released low-cost AI models that led to investor scepticism about U.S. claims on the massive spending needed to build advanced AI systems.

It is controlled by founder ​Liang, who financed the startup ‌via his quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer from its inception in 2023 until ​earlier this year, when it began seeking external fundraising.

(Reporting by Reuters staff; Editing ​by Eduardo Baptista; editing by Barbara Lewis)