Chinese artificial intelligence start-up DeepSeek has told prospective investors in its second fundraising round that it is suspending the deal for now.
The company verbally informed some of its potential backers that they would not be signing investment agreements in the coming days, though it might resume the process at a later date.
DeepSeek's maiden round raised about $7.4 billion. The pause was reportedly driven in part by the founder's frustration over online reports on comments he made to investors during the first fundraising round.
The Hangzhou-based startup had also started early deliberations on a potential IPO on the STAR Market, according to unverified reports.
The founder of DeepSeek and quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer Quant has long been a reclusive figure. A leaked transcript of a closed-door meeting with potential investors was released last week, in which he reportedly commented on the compute gap between China and the US.