DeepSeek launched a web-based image recognition mode on June 18, with the mobile app in beta testing, following the company's finalization of over 50 billion yuan in first-round financing. Testing showed the feature struggled with accuracy, failing to identify founder Liang Wenfeng's photo and misidentifying him as other tech executives. Founder Liang Wenfeng personally invested approximately 20 billion yuan as the largest single investor, with Tencent contributing around 10 billion yuan and CATL system investing about 5 billion yuan.
DeepSeek Image Recognition Mode Shows Initial Accuracy Challenges
DeepSeek formally launched the web version of its image recognition mode on June 18, according to reports. The APP version remains in internal testing phase. The newly launched image recognition mode appears to be in its initial stage. When tested with photos of DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng, the model provided incorrect answers after several minutes of processing, eventually stating "I'm really not sure. I don't recommend guessing names, because guessing wrong is worse than saying 'I don't know.'"
In other user tests, DeepSeek misidentified founder Liang Wenfeng's photo as Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin and a "younger version" of Ma Huateng.
DeepSeek Secures Over 50 Billion Yuan First-Round Financing
According to media reports, founder Liang Wenfeng personally invested approximately 20 billion yuan, making him the largest single investor in this financing round. Tencent invested approximately 10 billion yuan. CATL system invested approximately 5 billion yuan, including CATL and Monolith Capital. NetEase, JD.com, Monolith Capital, and IDG Capital each invested approximately 3 billion yuan. Loyal Valley Capital and Shixiang Technology each invested approximately 1.5 billion yuan.
Investment Terms Prohibit Employee Poaching
According to reports, the core investment terms for DeepSeek state that Liang Wenfeng's most important requirement for both large companies and VC funds is: do not poach DeepSeek employees or suggest they start their own businesses. Internal sources confirmed this statement is essentially accurate.
DeepSeek previously gained industry recognition for not pursuing commercialization. Backed by founder Liang Wenfeng's Highflyer Capital, DeepSeek has strong technical capabilities and computing power foundation in quantitative trading and intelligent finance, and is among China's first large model companies to own a 10,000-card cluster.
Huawei Ascend Supernode Products Support DeepSeek-V4
Huawei Computing announced that Ascend supernode products fully support DeepSeek-V4. Through close chip-model technical collaboration between both parties, the entire Ascend supernode product series now supports DeepSeek-V4 series models.
On the day DeepSeek-V4 preview version launched, the official team stated: "Not tempted by praise, not afraid of criticism, walking the path of reason, maintaining integrity." DeepSeek expressed: "We will always adhere to the principle of long-termism, move forward steadily in attempts and thinking, and strive to continuously approach the goal of achieving AGI."
As of the close on June 18, another domestic large model leader Zhipu (02513.HK) rose 26.15%, with its stock price reaching 2,094 Hong Kong dollars, hitting a record high, and total market capitalization exceeding 900 billion Hong Kong dollars.
FAQ
What did DeepSeek launch on June 18?
DeepSeek launched a web-based image recognition mode on June 18, with the mobile app version currently in internal beta testing. Initial tests showed the feature struggled with accuracy, failing to correctly identify founder Liang Wenfeng's photo.
How much financing did DeepSeek secure in its first round?
DeepSeek finalized over 50 billion yuan in first-round financing. Founder Liang Wenfeng personally invested approximately 20 billion yuan as the largest single investor, Tencent invested around 10 billion yuan, and CATL system invested about 5 billion yuan, with additional investments from NetEase, JD.com, and other firms.
