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DeepSeek

China's most influential open-weight AI lab, spun out of the quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer.

Visit deepseek.com (opens in a new tab)
Founded
2023
Based in
Hangzhou, China
Stage
Late-stage private
Business model
Open-weight / open-source, API / developer platform
Record
Needs reviewChecked 24 September 2026

What DeepSeek does

DeepSeek is a Hangzhou-based AI research lab founded in 2023 by Liang Wenfeng, who built the company's computing infrastructure through High-Flyer, the quantitative hedge fund he co-founded. DeepSeek's open-weight model releases - particularly its R1 reasoning model - triggered a sharp reassessment in early 2025 of how much compute frontier-level AI performance actually requires, briefly moving US technology-stock markets on the news.

The company has continued to release open-weight models through 2026 and is reported to be preparing an IPO on the Chinese mainland, with a filing potentially as soon as this year and a debut targeted for 2027 - a notable move for a company that spent its first two years avoiding the spotlight entirely.

  • Large language models
  • Open-weight models
Hangzhou30.27°, 120.16°Open map (opens in a new tab)

Runs it

  • Liang WenfengFounder & CEO

DeepSeek

Late-stage private

Funds it

  • High-Flyer