# Tencent, Alibaba in talks to invest in DeepSeek at over $20B valuation - slug: tencent-alibaba-in-talks-to-invest-in-deepseek-at-over-20b-valuation - date: 2026-04-23 - category: Artificial Intelligence Tencent and Alibaba are racing to back DeepSeek at a $20B+ valuation. What the bidding war says about China’s AI strategy — and whether US chip restrictions can still slow it down. ---