DeepSeek Nears $500M ARR as $71B AI Startup Eyes IPO, Joining OpenAI and Anthropic

DeepSeek is steadily moving toward its IPO and already looks like a mature public company. According to media reports, its annual recurring revenue (ARR) is close to $500 million, it has raised approximately $7.4 billion in investments, and its gross margin exceeds 50% thanks to paid access to its flagship V4 model.
The company is preparing for a listing on the STAR tech exchange in Shanghai and, at the same time, is planning a second round of financing to raise dollar-denominated capital from foreign investors, including those in the Middle East. DeepSeek’s valuation has reached ~$71 billion—just a few months after the release of competitive AI models with lower costs than those of Western players.
Against this backdrop, competitors are taking a different path: Anthropic has begun the IPO process in the U.S., though without a specific timeline, while OpenAI is expected to postpone its IPO until at least 2027.
The AI market is shifting from a race for model superiority to a race for a successful IPO—and DeepSeek may be among the first.