DeepSeek funding round: $7.4B
DeepSeek is closing a $7.4 billion funding round — its first-ever outside investment — backed by Tencent, CATL, and China's National AI Investment Fund.
Snapshot · The Prof G Pod with Scott Galloway
China Decode: Apple's China Chip Play, DeepSeek Seeking Billions, and the Californication of Chinese Food
Explore episode
Jun 30, 2026
Where this was said
RAMageddon: The Structural DRAM Shortage
At 15:40 · chapter starts 15:00
In a focused summary of the chip shortage's scale, James Kynge lays out the numbers: DRAM prices were up nearly 100% in the first quarter of 2025, and analysts expect a further 60% jump in Q2 [1] — James Kynge "DRAM prices up ~100% in Q1: DRAM memory chip prices surged nearly 100% in the first quarter of this year, with another 60% jump expected in…" 14:57 . This is not a demand blip that will self-correct; it is structural, driven by the enormous memory requirements of AI data centers. New capacity requires years to come online, meaning 'RAMageddon' — Kynge's term for the crisis — will run for a considerable time. The inflationary implications ripple outward: not just into Apple products but across the entire spectrum of electronic goods, compounding oil-price driven inflation already pressuring global economies.
DeepSeek's Landmark $7.4 Billion Funding Round
DeepSeek is finalizing a $7.4 billion funding round backed by Tencent, CATL, and China's state-backed National AI Investment Fund — its first external capital ever. Its valuation jumped six-fold in just six weeks to approximately $59 billion, despite the round being tiny by US AI lab standards.
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