According to Bloomberg, Chinese AI giant DeepSeek has abruptly suspended its massive second fundraising round following viral, leaked comments from its founder. This effectively pauses a follow-on round that was targeting a staggering $71 billion (480 billion yuan) pre-money valuation. However, Liang's leaked reality check strikes a highly sensitive nerve in Beijing, directly countering the heavily promoted domestic narrative that China's AI sector has already closed the gap with Silicon Valley. Bloomberg notes that the situation remains fluid, and DeepSeek could easily revive the deal once the digital dust settles. Related articlesDeepSeek hits the brakes on mega-funding after founder's leaked reality checkThese 2 stocks are best positioned to benefit from higher uranium prices: analystAs Claude disrupts stock market, Anthropic researcher warns 'world is in peril'