Who Owns Deepseek?

Who owns DeepSeek? DeepSeek is a privately held artificial intelligence company based in China. It is fully owned and funded by the hedge fund High-Flyer, which has been its exclusive financial backer since the company was founded in 2023. Liang Wenfeng, the founder and CEO of DeepSeek, also co-founded High-Flyer in 2016, making the firm a key force behind DeepSeek’s growth.

DeepSeek has quickly gained recognition in the AI industry, particularly for its open-source large language models. Its DeepSeek-R1 model has drawn attention for its efficiency and cost-effectiveness, competing with leading AI models from major U.S. tech firms while being developed at a significantly lower cost.

The company’s rapid rise can be attributed to its strong emphasis on research and development, as well as its ability to attract top-tier talent. With growing international recognition, DeepSeek is emerging as a major player in the evolving AI landscape.

Top DeepSeek Individual Shareholders

DeepSeek is a privately held company and does not have individual shareholders in the public domain. Its ownership is entirely vested in its parent company, High-Flyer, a Chinese hedge fund. This structure means that DeepSeek’s ownership is centralized within High-Flyer, with no external individual shareholders.

Ownership Structure of DeepSeek

DeepSeek operates as a wholly-owned subsidiary of High-Flyer. High-Flyer, known for its expertise in AI-driven trading algorithms, has provided substantial financial backing to DeepSeek, enabling it to focus on advanced AI research and development. 

Brief History of DeepSeek

Liang Wenfeng, born in 1985 in Guangdong province, demonstrated exceptional talent in mathematics from a young age. He pursued electronic information engineering at Zhejiang University, where he developed a keen interest in artificial intelligence and its applications in finance.

In 2016, leveraging his expertise, Liang co-founded High-Flyer, a hedge fund that utilized AI to identify patterns in stock prices. By 2021, High-Flyer’s assets under management reportedly surpassed 100 billion yuan (approximately $11 billion).

In March 2023, High-Flyer announced a strategic shift to concentrate resources on creating a new and independent research group dedicated to exploring the essence of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). This initiative led to the establishment of DeepSeek in May 2023, with a focus on developing open-source large language models.

DeepSeek quickly gained attention in the AI community with the release of its DeepSeek-V3 model, which was trained using less than $6 million worth of computing power from Nvidia H800 chips. This achievement was particularly notable given the constraints posed by U.S. export controls on advanced AI chips to China.

By January 27th, 2025, the company’s AI Assistant, powered by DeepSeek-V3, surpassed OpenAI’s ChatGPT to become the top-rated free application on Apple’s App Store in the United States.

DeepSeek’s success has been attributed to its research-focused agenda, efficient use of resources, and the recruitment of top-tier talent. The company employs young researchers from leading Chinese universities, driven by a passion for AI and scientific curiosity. This approach has enabled DeepSeek to make significant advancements in AI, positioning it as a key player in the global AI landscape.

Brief History of High-Flyer

High-Flyer Quantitative Investment Management, commonly known as High-Flyer, is a leading Chinese hedge fund specializing in artificial intelligence (AI)-driven quantitative trading. Founded in 2016 by Liang Wenfeng and two of his classmates from Zhejiang University, the firm has played a pivotal role in transforming financial trading through advanced machine-learning algorithms.

Founding and Early Development

High-Flyer was established by a group of university peers who shared a strong background in mathematics and technology. During their time at Zhejiang University, they explored algorithmic trading and developed strategies to analyze stock market trends.

Their deep understanding of mathematical models and data analytics eventually led them to launch High-Flyer in 2016. From the outset, the firm focused on utilizing machine learning to enhance trading efficiency and predict market movements with precision.

AI Integration and Technological Advancements

High-Flyer’s commitment to innovation was evident early on, with the firm investing heavily in AI and machine learning for trading strategies. In 2016, the company began experimenting with a multi-factor model that analyzed price and volume data to inform stock positions. By 2017, this AI-driven model was fully incorporated into trading operations.

A major breakthrough came with the development of the Fire-Flyer I AI cluster—an advanced computing system powered by 500 GPUs with high-bandwidth connectivity. This infrastructure significantly enhanced High-Flyer’s ability to process large datasets and refine its trading algorithms. By 2021, the firm had fully transitioned to AI-based decision-making, drawing comparisons to industry giants like Renaissance Technologies.

Challenges and Market Adjustments

Despite its successes, High-Flyer faced challenges, including market volatility and performance fluctuations. In 2021, the firm acknowledged underperformance due to misjudgments in sector rotation and market timing.

The AI models struggled to adjust to rapidly shifting conditions, leading to higher-than-expected risk exposure. In response, the company refined its risk management strategies and optimized its AI models to improve adaptability in uncertain market conditions.

Strategic Shift to AI Research

By 2023, High-Flyer made a strategic decision to expand its focus beyond financial trading and into artificial intelligence research. This led to the establishment of DeepSeek, an independent AI research subsidiary dedicated to exploring artificial general intelligence (AGI).

While High-Flyer continues to manage its investment operations, DeepSeek operates as a separate entity focusing on AI advancements, reinforcing the company’s long-term commitment to technological innovation.

Conclusion

DeepSeek’s rapid ascent in the AI landscape is a testament to its strategic backing by High-Flyer, a firm with deep expertise in AI-driven financial models. By leveraging High-Flyer’s resources and research-driven approach, DeepSeek has positioned itself as a formidable player in artificial intelligence, particularly in the development of open-source large language models.

As the company continues its pursuit of artificial general intelligence (AGI), its influence in the AI sector is expected to grow, further shaping the future of open-source AI development.