On July 26, Bloomberg reported—citing sources close to the matter—that artificial intelligence firm DeepSeek has verbally informed some potential investors that its second funding round has been temporarily halted, with no investment agreements anticipated in the near future. However, negotiations remain fluid, and the funding process could resume at a later stage. The pause is partly due to founder Liang Wenfeng’s dissatisfaction with recent developments. A purported summary of his meeting with investors circulated online, sparking widespread debate, which may have prompted the founder to reconsider the pace of fundraising. DeepSeek has not yet issued a response. According to reports, DeepSeek initially aimed to secure at least RMB 10 billion in its second round, targeting a pre-investment valuation of at least RMB 480 billion. The company completed its first funding round in June this year, raising USD 7 billion from investors such as Tencent and CATL.