Chinese AI startup DeepSeek is discussing a funding round that would raise at least $300 million and value the company at $10 billion, according to a recent report by The Information, which cited two people familiar with the matter.

The company, whose low-cost AI models disrupted the industry and contributed to stock market turbulence last year, has previously turned down multiple funding offers from leading Chinese venture capital firms and technology giants, according to the report.

The potential fundraising highlights the significant capital required to develop and operate advanced AI models, particularly as the sector shifts toward sophisticated reasoning systems and agentic applications, states a report by Reuters on the matter.

DeepSeek did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters, which said it could not independently verify the report.

Reuters reported earlier this year that DeepSeek had not presented its flagship model to American chipmakers for performance optimisation, and that it had trained one of its newer models on Nvidia's most advanced chip despite export restrictions barring such use. China has been encouraging domestic firms to adopt locally made processors to lessen dependence on foreign technology.