DeepSeek plans to lead the first funding round for a startup founded only months ago that is dedicated to developing robot AI, deploying capital from its own fundraising haul of more than $12 billion to bet on one of the fastest-growing areas of the tech industry.
According to people familiar with the matter, the Hangzhou-based AI research organization has agreed to spearhead a seed round of tens of millions of dollars in Winverse AI. The people said the startup, which has not yet made a public debut, was founded by a former top scientist at Tencent Holdings Ltd (ASX: 00700) and has also secured funding commitments from other investors including Long-Z Investments, a unit of Meituan, at a post-money valuation of roughly $400 million.
The people said the deal has not yet been finalized, and details such as the valuation and investor participation could still change. If completed, it would rank among DeepSeek's largest investments in a startup since hedge fund manager Liang Wenfeng founded the company in 2023 and propelled it to the industry's forefront two years later.
The deal would help the Chinese AI leader further expand its footprint in real-world applications, such as humanoid robots for factory floors.
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According to earlier reports, DeepSeek's latest funding round is close to raising at least 80 billion yuan ($12 billion), far exceeding its original fundraising target, as it prepares for an initial public offering in early 2027. The capital was originally intended mainly for model training and data center construction, but it could also allow the AI research organization to begin investing in a new generation of startups and pursue joint development with them.
Winverse was founded in 2026 by Hu Han. Hu previously served as a chief scientist at Tencent, where he led the vision-language and embodied foundation model team before departing. According to his GitHub page, he holds a doctorate from Tsinghua University, and his career includes stints at Microsoft Research Asia and Baidu. Hu did not respond to emailed requests for comment. Representatives for DeepSeek and Long-Z also did not reply to emailed inquiries.
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