China's DeepSeek deal propels global venture funding to $59 billion in october

Global venture capital reached $59 billion in October, marking a 45% increase from the prior year, largely driven by DeepSeek's record-setting $15.9 billion funding round. This deal established the largest-ever venture investment for a Chinese firm, placing DeepSeek among the Top 10 most highly funded private companies and making it the second most valued Chinese company after ByteDance. The majority of the month's investment flowed into U.S. and Chinese companies, which secured $28 billion and $20.6 billion, respectively. Beyond DeepSeek, rival Moonshot AI reportedly reached a $50 billion valuation in October. Other significant deals included Re:Build's $2.1 billion round, Axiom's $2 billion investment for data center capacity, and Ramp's $1.85 billion raise. Overall, AI-driven companies accounted for 66% of global funding, with seven companies securing billion-dollar rounds for over 40% of the total. In M&A activity, at least nine venture-backed firms were acquired for over $1 billion last month, including Uber's purchase of ezCater for $2.3 billion.