Chinese AI startup DeepSeek has verbally informed some prospective investors that it is suspending its second fundraising round, Bloomberg News reported last week, citing people familiar with the matter.

The company told potential backers that investment agreements would not be signed in the coming days, though the deal could resume later. The pause was reportedly driven in part by founder Liang Wenfeng's frustration over online reports that quoted comments he had made to investors during the startup's first fundraising round.

The Hangzhou-based company had planned to raise fresh funds at a valuation of about 500 billion yuan ($74 billion), following an initial round that brought in roughly $7.4 billion. The company has also started early-stage discussions on a potential initial public offering on Shanghai's Nasdaq-style STAR Market.