Chinese technology startups are actively seeking new funding to capitalize on the burgeoning interest in artificial intelligence (AI), spurred by DeepSeek’s advancements and President Xi Jinping’s recent endorsement of private enterprises.
DeepSeek, a Hangzhou-based startup, has gained significant traction with its R1 model, leading to widespread adoption across various sectors, including hospitals, local governments, car manufacturers, and state-owned enterprises. The low cost of deploying DeepSeek’s models and its open-source strategy have facilitated rapid integration. Beijing’s support has further fueled this adoption, with significant endorsements from President Xi Jinping and major Chinese companies like Tencent, BYD, and Great Wall Motor.
In response to this AI fervor, startups like Zhipu AI have secured substantial investments. Zhipu AI recently raised over 1 billion yuan (approximately $137 million) from investors, including Hangzhou City Investment Group Industrial Fund and Shangcheng Capital. The company plans to use these funds to enhance its language model, GLM, and expand its AI ecosystem, focusing on enterprises in the Zhejiang province and the Yangtze River Delta economic zone.
President Xi Jinping’s recent meetings with private sector leaders, including Alibaba co-founder Jack Ma and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng, underscore the government’s commitment to bolstering the economy and advancing technological capabilities.
Analysts project that AI will start raising China’s potential growth by 2026 as adoption gains speed. The technology is expected to lift annual expansion by as much as 0.3 percentage points by 2030, triple the estimate before DeepSeek’s emergence. However, the country will have to manage the pace of labor replacement carefully.
In summary, China’s tech startups are rapidly mobilizing to harness the momentum generated by DeepSeek’s innovations and governmental support, aiming to secure funding and drive growth in the AI sector.
