What was reported
DeepSeek has engaged Citic Securities and three other underwriters to prepare a listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market, the South China Morning Post reported on 9 September, citing sources. Reuters reported the Citic engagement the same day. The company aims to begin the IPO process this year. Neither DeepSeek nor Citic responded to requests for comment.
The distinction worth holding onto is procedural. Under mainland rules a company works with a securities firm on pre-listing guidance before it can submit an application to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Hiring underwriters is that first step. No filing has been made, no issue size has been set, and no listing date exists.
The valuation numbers, and where they come from
The SCMP reported that a pre-IPO financing round could value DeepSeek at around 500 billion yuan, roughly $74 billion. Other reports put the discussion at a pre-money range of $71bn to $74bn. All of these come from people described as familiar with the matter rather than from the company, and none of them is a price anyone has paid.
What is on the record is the trajectory. DeepSeek raised more than $7 billion in June 2026 at a post-money valuation above $50 billion. A round at $71bn to $74bn three months later would be a substantial markup in a short window, which is the pattern across the sector this year rather than anything specific to DeepSeek.
Why a domestic listing
A STAR Market listing keeps the company inside China’s regulatory perimeter, which for an AI firm subject to model registration and data rules is the path of least friction. It also means the capital comes from mainland investors at a moment when American exchanges are effectively closed to Chinese AI companies of this profile.
The money matters because DeepSeek’s costs have changed shape. The company ordered 160,000 Huawei chips for a one-gigawatt inference site, and it released V4.1 Flash on 10 September while cutting API prices. Cheap inference at that scale is a capital expenditure problem before it is a research one.
What to watch
The next verifiable event is a filing with the CSRC, which is public when it happens. Until then this is a well-sourced report about preparation, not a listing. Reports suggest DeepSeek could file as early as the end of 2026, with a debut in 2027 — timelines that come from the same anonymous sourcing as the valuations.
