DeepSeek Halts $1.4B Round After Founder's Candid Reality Check Leaks Online

China's AI narrative of closing the gap with Silicon Valley just hit a brick wall — not from regulators, but from the founder of its most promising startup himself.

Evidence For

• DeepSeek's billionaire founder Liang Wenfeng verbally informed investors that the company's planned $1.4 billion follow-on round is paused indefinitely, according to Bloomberg
• The leaked comments from private investor meetings went viral on Chinese social media, reportedly revealing that...