[DeepSeek's Financing Quotas Are Going Wild: Entry Fees Exceed 15%, Profit Sharing Up to 40%] Beating AI Newsflash: DeepSeek is conducting a new round of financing with a pre-money valuation of approximately $71 billion. Just a month ago, the company completed its first round of financing at a valuation of about $52 billion, raising $7 billion. In just one month, the valuation has increased by roughly 37%. Even though the new round requires a 5-year lock-up period and offers no voting rights, investors are scrambling for quotas. Those unable to secure direct shares are entering indirectly through institutions that have obtained allocations. These institutions are setting up SPVs (special purpose vehicles created specifically for a single investment) and raising funds from external investors. Some first-tier SPVs charge a 6% entry fee, second-tier ones raise it to 8%, and lower-tier channels charge over 15%, with profits further divided by up to 40%. Typically, SPVs only charge about 2% in upfront fees and 20% in profit sharing. These off-market arrangements are not initiated by DeepSeek. According to FT, Liang Wenfeng has already begun personally reviewing the final list of investors and verifying the identities of the backers to prevent shares from ending up in the hands of unidentified entities and to reduce the governance risks posed by a complex shareholder structure ahead of a potential IPO. [Original Link]