Rubén Andrés
WriterWriter at Xataka. I've been working remotely for more than a decade and I'm a strong advocate of technology as a way to improve our lives. Full-time addict of black, sugar-free coffee.
The launch of DeepSeek R1, China’s artificial intelligence model, has significantly impacted the foundations of AI development in the West. This model seemed to have achieved results comparable to those of OpenAI but at a fraction of the development cost. However, some are now questioning this claim.
Amid this surge of AI investment, one clear winner has emerged: Liang Wenfeng, DeepSeek’s CEO and one of the company’s seven founders. Thanks to the success of his AI model, Liang has become a billionaire. However, estimates of his fortune vary widely–from around $1 billion to as much as $150 billion, depending on who you ask.
DeepSeek is key. Liang’s wealth is estimated to represent at least 84% of DeepSeek’s value. As such, understanding the company’s valuation is key to determining the net worth of its primary owner.
Like companies such as OpenAI, SpaceX, Neuralink, and many others, the challenge lies in the fact that DeepSeek isn’t publicly traded like Nvidia, Apple, and Microsoft. In publicly traded companies, market prices of shares establish their value. However, for private companies, their worth is typically determined by third-party estimates.
For instance, several rounds of financing for OpenAI have helped establish its valuation at around $157 billion, according to Forbes. Similarly, according to Bloomberg, investors estimated SpaceX to be worth about $350 billion after its most recent funding round.
Chinese companies are harder to value. Liang founded DeepSeek as a side project within his investment firm High-Flyer. According to Forbes, DeepSeek hasn’t received any third-party investment, which means no external sources are available to provide an informed valuation.
Tracking new valuations becomes challenging given the lack of transparency associated with Chinese companies’ investments. The only viable method for estimating a company’s worth is to compare it with similar rivals in the industry.
Rough estimates. According to Bloomberg, several AI experts and startup founders suggest that DeepSeek’s value could range between $2 billion and $30 billion. However, more extreme estimates place it anywhere from $1 billion to $150 billion.
“It’s basically impossible to give a convincing answer here because it’s a secretive, privately owned firm that is internally funded by the founder’s trading profits,” Jeffrey Emanuel, the CEO of a New York-based blockchain startup, told the outlet.
One comparable company is Anthropic, which has achieved a valuation of $60 billion, thanks to financial backing from Amazon. Another reference point is France’s Mistral AI, which is valued at $6 billion. As such, a more moderate mid-range valuation seems most aligned with the reality of DeepSeek’s estimated worth.
An estimate of Liang’s fortune. Based on conservative calculations, Liang’s wealth from his stake in DeepSeek ranges between $1.68 billion and $25.2 billion.
It’s important to note that DeepSeek is merely a side project for Liang. His primary employment is with High-Flyer. According to financial records, Forbes estimates that Liang’s investment fund holds around $8 billion in assets, which values the company at about $240 million. As a result, Liang’s stake in High-Flyer could contribute an additional $180 million to his overall fortune. This would place him among the elite group of billionaires who have built their wealth through AI.
Image | Tim Reckmann | DeepSeek
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