DeepSeek hires banker as CFO ahead of IPO

Investing.com -- DeepSeek plans to hire Yan Wentao, a partner at venture-capital firm GL Ventures, as its first chief financial officer, Reuters reported Monday, as China's lead AI startup is preparing for a potential initial public offering.

Last week, reports indicated 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, would mark a step in DeepSeek's transformation from a research-focused lab bankrolled by its founder's hedge fund into a more conventional corporate structure.

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.

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

DeepSeek is in an ongoing fundraising round that values it at about 500 billion yuan ($74 billion), as reported in July. In June, it raised about $7.4 billion at a post-money valuation of more than $50 billion.

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

DeepSeek 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.

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