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DeepSeek taps CITIC Securities for potential Shanghai IPO as AI funding race intensifies

By
Samuel Nwite
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0

Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has hired CITIC Securities to prepare for a potential initial public offering on Shanghai’s technology-focused STAR Market, as the AI developer seeks fresh capital to expand computing infrastructure and retain talent, two people familiar with the matter have told Reuters.

The Hangzhou-based startup aims to begin the IPO process this year, the people said, requesting anonymity because the discussions are private.

DeepSeek’s engagement of CITIC Securities has not previously been reported and indicates that the company is moving forward with preparations for a mainland China listing. Companies seeking to list in China typically appoint securities firms to provide pre-listing guidance before formally submitting an application.

The timing of any offering, the amount DeepSeek could raise and its potential valuation have not been determined, the sources said.

The potential IPO comes as DeepSeek seeks additional funding to finance the rapid expansion of its computing infrastructure, develop new AI models, and compete for researchers and engineers in an expensive global AI market.

The company is currently in the middle of a funding round that would value it at 500 billion yuan ($75 billion), Reuters reported in July. DeepSeek raised about $7.4 billion in June at a post-money valuation of more than $50 billion, according to people familiar with the deal and investor filings.

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng personally committed 20 billion yuan to that funding round. Tencent Holdings contributed 10 billion yuan, while battery manufacturer CATL invested 5 billion yuan, making the two companies the startup’s largest external shareholders, according to Reuters.

The funding and IPO preparations highlight the enormous capital requirements emerging around frontier AI development. Training and deploying increasingly capable models requires large amounts of computing power, data-center capacity, electricity and specialized engineering talent.

For DeepSeek, access to capital is also becoming increasingly important as Chinese AI companies compete against each other while operating under a different funding and market environment from their U.S. counterparts.

Chinese AI Companies Rush Toward Public Markets

DeepSeek’s potential Shanghai listing comes amid a wave of AI companies seeking access to public capital. Chinese AI developers Z.AI and MiniMax both listed in Hong Kong earlier this year, giving investors new ways to gain exposure to the country’s rapidly expanding AI industry.

Beijing-based Moonshot AI has also confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO. Moonshot was valued at $50 billion in a funding round, below DeepSeek’s reported private-market valuation and Z.AI’s market capitalization, which stood at about $54 billion according to the supplied figures.

The Chinese companies’ valuations remain significantly below those being discussed for major U.S. AI developers. Anthropic, the developer of Claude and Mythos, could command a valuation of as much as $2 trillion in an IPO, according to some investor estimates. OpenAI could seek a valuation of up to $1 trillion in a potential offering.

The gap highlights a major difference between the U.S. and Chinese AI markets: technological capability does not necessarily translate into comparable revenue or profitability.

Chinese AI developers have made rapid advances in large language models and other AI systems, but converting those products into recurring commercial revenue remains a major challenge. Lower pricing, intense domestic competition and high infrastructure costs can put pressure on margins even as demand for AI services grows.

For companies such as DeepSeek, an IPO could provide a larger and more durable pool of capital than private fundraising alone, while giving the company resources to scale computing capacity and compete for scarce technical talent.

Talent Retention Adds Pressure

DeepSeek’s need for capital also extends to employee retention. Liang hopes proceeds from a potential IPO would allow the company to offer stronger incentives to researchers and other key employees, according to one of the sources.

The startup has recently lost talent to better-funded Chinese technology companies, including ByteDance and Xiaomi, the source said.

The competition for AI researchers has become increasingly intense as technology companies seek specialists capable of developing foundation models, improving inference efficiency and designing the computing infrastructure needed to run AI systems at scale. The competition is contributing to a broader increase in AI costs. Companies are spending heavily not only on chips and data centers but also on compensation packages designed to prevent experienced researchers from moving to rivals.

DeepSeek’s reported decision to pursue a STAR Market listing therefore comes at a critical point in the company’s development. Its breakthrough AI models helped establish it as one of China’s most closely watched AI startups, but maintaining that position will require sustained investment.

An eventual IPO would give DeepSeek access to China’s public equity markets and potentially strengthen its ability to finance model development, computing infrastructure and employee retention.

The listing is also expected to provide a public-market valuation for one of China’s most prominent AI companies at a time when investors are trying to determine how much value the country’s AI sector can ultimately create.

Apple’s New CEO Inherits a $4.6 Trillion Challenge

By
TI Partners
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0

The change in leadership at Apple marks the end of one of the most successful eras in the history of the US technology industry. During Tim Cook’s tenure as CEO, the company’s stock price increased by more than 2,275%, and, taking dividends into account, the total return for investors reached 2,736%. Apple’s market capitalization grew from less than $350 billion to $4.6 trillion over the same period, briefly putting the company at the top of the stock screener by market cap.

Now, the company’s leadership has been handed over to John Ternus, who previously held the position of senior vice president of hardware engineering. Tim Cook will remain at Apple as executive chairman of the board of directors, helping ensure a smooth leadership transition.

The scale of the new leader’s responsibility is also reflected in his compensation package. Ternus’s base salary will be $3 million per year, and he will receive an additional $55 million or so in the form of stock. Part of the remuneration will depend on Apple’s performance relative to the S&P 500 index, directly aligning the new CEO’s financial interests with those of shareholders.

Ternus has inherited an impressive legacy. Under Cook, Apple transformed from a company that largely depended on the iPhone and Mac into a much more diversified business. Apple launched the Apple Watch and AirPods, significantly expanded its services business, and became one of the most valuable companies in the world. At the same time, Apple turned into a massive engine for generating and returning capital to shareholders.

It will be difficult for the new leader to replicate Cook’s results, if only because of the high base effect. Increasing market capitalization from $350 billion to several trillion dollars is significantly easier than delivering comparable growth for a company that is already valued at $4.6 trillion. Therefore, Ternus faces the challenge of finding new directions that can support business growth as the smartphone market matures while preserving the exceptionally profitable existing ecosystem.

Cook, as executive chairman, will receive a base salary of $2 million and stock options worth approximately $45 million. For comparison, his total compensation as CEO in 2025 reached $74.3 million. Cook has also stated that he expects to remain chairman of the board for a long time, meaning his influence over the company’s strategy will continue.

One of the first serious challenges for the new leadership is artificial intelligence. Apple is currently taking a much more cautious approach than many of its competitors, but at the same time, it is facing an intensifying struggle for talent and intellectual property.

The company is already suing OpenAI, accusing it of unlawfully using Apple’s proprietary technologies. At the center of the case is former Apple engineer Chan Liu, who, according to the company, continued to have access to confidential technical documentation after leaving and used it in his new job. Apple also alleges that he attempted to destroy evidence and is demanding financial compensation and a ban on the use of the disputed developments.

The scale of the potential talent drain appears even more serious. According to Apple, OpenAI managed to lure away more than 400 of its former employees. For a company whose competitive advantage has been built over decades around the close integration of its own chips, hardware, and software ecosystem, such an outflow of specialists poses not only a talent risk but also a financial one.

It is here that Ternus will have to determine the future direction of Apple’s development. Cook inherited a company worth less than $350 billion from Steve Jobs and turned it into a business worth $4.6 trillion. However, simply continuing the previous strategy no longer guarantees a similar result.

The new leader will have to simultaneously protect the existing ecosystem, find new sources of growth, and define Apple’s place in the artificial intelligence market. Therefore, the main indicator of Ternus’s success will not be the ability to replicate Cook’s achievements, but the ability to prove to investors that even with a market capitalization of $4.6 trillion, Apple still has products and markets capable of driving the next stage of growth.

Baseten Acquires Tekedia Capital Portfolio Company, Blaxel

By
Ndubuisi Ekekwe
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0

Tekedia Capital is delighted to announce that Baseten has acquired our portfolio company, Blaxel, creating another significant windfall for the Tekedia Capital community.

Blaxel was built from first principles. Secure sandboxes designed for agents, not retrofitted for them. True isolation for code execution, tool use, and MCP servers. State that persists across long-running sessions. Joining Baseten means building what this team believed was coming all along: the model and the machine it runs on, in a single system.

With this, Tekedia Capital becomes part of Baseten, a $13 billion valued AI innovating family. Learn what we do at capital.tekedia.com and how we pick the companies of the future, globally.

Gemini Gains MAS Approval for Spot Trading, Custody and OTC Services

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

Gemini’s acquisition of a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from Singapore’s Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) marks another significant step in the evolution of regulated cryptocurrency markets.

The approval strengthens Gemini’s ability to operate within one of Asia’s most important financial centers while expanding access to spot cryptocurrency trading, custody services and over-the-counter (OTC) transactions.

The license is important because Singapore has positioned itself as a global hub for digital assets while maintaining a comparatively strict regulatory framework. Rather than pursuing growth through regulatory uncertainty.

The country has sought to establish clear requirements for companies providing payment and digital-asset services. For Gemini, securing authorization from MAS therefore represents more than a geographic expansion.

It provides a regulated foundation for serving institutional and sophisticated investors in the region. Under its Singapore operations, Gemini can provide services connected to spot trading, custody and OTC activity within the boundaries of its regulatory authorization.

Spot trading allows customers to buy and sell digital assets directly, while custody addresses one of the most important concerns for institutional participants: the secure holding and administration of crypto assets.

OTC markets, meanwhile, are particularly relevant to larger investors seeking to execute substantial transactions without relying entirely on public exchange order books.

The combination of these services could give Gemini a stronger position in Singapore’s increasingly competitive digital-asset market. Institutional adoption has become one of the defining trends in cryptocurrency.

With asset managers, financial institutions and professional investors demanding infrastructure that meets established standards for compliance, security and operational controls. Regulatory licensing can help address that demand.

Institutions often face strict requirements concerning counterparty risk, asset custody, compliance procedures and governance. A regulated platform can therefore be more attractive than an offshore or lightly regulated alternative, even when the latter offers greater flexibility or lower costs.

Singapore itself benefits from this model. By requiring digital-asset companies to meet regulatory standards, MAS can encourage innovation while attempting to limit risks associated with money laundering, consumer protection and financial instability.

The approach reinforces Singapore’s ambition to remain relevant as financial services increasingly move onto blockchain networks. The license comes at a time when cryptocurrency companies are competing to establish regulated footholds across major financial jurisdictions.

The industry’s next phase is increasingly being shaped by licensing, institutional infrastructure and integration with traditional finance rather than simply by retail speculation.

The development also highlights how custody is becoming a central component of the crypto economy.

As more capital enters digital assets, the question is no longer simply how investors can purchase Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies. Investors need reliable mechanisms for safeguarding assets, executing large trades and meeting regulatory obligations.

Gemini’s Singapore authorization could consequently become an important component of its international strategy. Access to Singapore provides a potential gateway to a broader Asian market where demand for digital-asset infrastructure continues to develop.

Gemini’s MPI license demonstrates the growing convergence between cryptocurrency and regulated financial services. The industry is moving toward a model in which exchanges, custodians and trading platforms must increasingly operate within formal regulatory frameworks.

For investors, that shift may improve confidence. For crypto companies, it raises the cost of compliance but potentially expands access to deeper pools of institutional capital.

Singapore’s decision therefore carries significance beyond Gemini itself. It reflects a broader transformation in digital finance: cryptocurrency is gradually moving from an alternative financial ecosystem toward an increasingly regulated component of the global financial system.

Jack Dorsey’s Block Seeks National Trust Bank Charter for Bitcoin and Stablecoins

By
Paul Ugbede Godwin
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0

Jack Dorsey’s Block is taking another major step toward integrating cryptocurrency into the traditional financial system by applying for a national trust bank charter in the United States.

The company has submitted an application to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish Builders Bank & Trust, an uninsured national trust bank that would focus on custody and fiduciary services for Bitcoin, stablecoins and other digital assets.

If approved, Builders Bank would not operate like a conventional commercial bank. It would not accept customer deposits or make loans.

Instead, its primary role would be safeguarding and administering digital assets under federal supervision.

Block says the proposed charter would create a consistent national regulatory framework for certain custody and related activities that it already provides, allowing the business to scale more efficiently.

The application is important because custody has become one of the most strategically important parts of the digital-asset economy. As institutional investors, businesses and financial platforms increasingly interact with Bitcoin and stablecoins.

Demand has grown for regulated infrastructure capable of securely holding and managing these assets. A national trust bank could give Block a direct federal framework for providing those services rather than relying on a fragmented system of state-level permissions.

Block already has substantial experience in financial technology and digital assets through businesses associated with its broader ecosystem, including Cash App and Square Financial Services.

The proposed bank would build on that foundation while giving its cryptocurrency operations a more clearly defined regulatory structure. Lee Woolley, Block’s digital asset strategy lead, is expected to serve as president and chief executive of Builders Bank if the charter receives approval.

Woolley’s background includes senior roles in banking and financial services, strengthening Block’s argument that the proposed institution could operate at the intersection of traditional finance and digital assets.

Block’s application also reflects a broader transformation taking place across the U.S. financial sector. Crypto and fintech companies are increasingly seeking national bank or trust-bank charters as regulators provide clearer pathways for digital-asset businesses.

Coinbase, Paxos, BitGo, Ripple and Circle have pursued similar regulatory strategies, while Circle received final OCC approval for its national trust bank in July 2026.

The growing competition suggests that cryptocurrency custody is moving from a specialized service toward core financial infrastructure.

For Bitcoin, this could be particularly significant. Greater access to federally supervised custody providers may make it easier for institutions to hold the asset while satisfying internal compliance, governance and risk-management requirements.

Stablecoins are equally important to Block’s strategy. Dollar-linked digital assets have increasingly become part of payments and financial infrastructure, while U.S. regulators have developed a clearer framework for payment stablecoins.

The combination of regulated custody and stablecoin infrastructure could therefore position Block to participate in the expanding convergence between blockchain-based payments and traditional banking.

However, the application does not mean Builders Bank can immediately begin operating. The OCC must review the proposal, and approval would be subject to regulatory and organizational requirements.

Until that process is completed, Block remains an applicant rather than a federally chartered trust bank. Block’s banking application represents more than an expansion of its financial services business.

It illustrates how the boundary between cryptocurrency companies and traditional financial institutions is steadily disappearing. Bitcoin and stablecoins are increasingly being treated not simply as speculative digital assets, but as financial instruments requiring institutional-grade custody, compliance and governance.

Securing a national trust charter could provide the regulatory foundation needed to scale that infrastructure. For the broader crypto industry, it could be another indication that digital assets are gradually becoming embedded in the architecture of modern finance.

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