DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng has become the world’s richest founder of an artificial intelligence startup after a fresh funding round pushed his net worth to an estimated $36 billion.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Liang’s fortune more than doubled from about $16.7 billion following DeepSeek’s latest fundraising, placing him ahead of leading AI entrepreneurs, including Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei and OpenAI President Greg Brockman.
The ranking focuses on founders whose companies generate most of their revenue from developing frontier artificial intelligence models, excluding technology conglomerates and firms operating in other parts of the AI ecosystem.
Liang’s wealth is largely tied to his ownership stake in DeepSeek, one of China’s fastest-growing AI companies.
The startup’s valuation increased from about $10 billion in April to $50 billion after completing a $7.4 billion funding round in June. Liang also invested $3 billion in the fundraising while retaining an estimated 78% ownership stake, allowing him to benefit from the company’s rising valuation.
Unlike many AI founders in Silicon Valley who have diluted their ownership through multiple funding rounds, Liang has maintained majority control of DeepSeek, positioning him as the largest shareholder of the company.
DeepSeek gained global attention in early 2025 after claiming it developed its flagship AI model for less than $6 million. The claim was later questioned by Google DeepMind Chief Executive Demis Hassabis, who argued the figure likely covered only the model’s final training phase.
The company’s popularity also surged after its AI assistant became one of the most downloaded applications on Apple’s App Store and Google Play Store, although rapid user growth forced it to restrict new registrations following massive cyberattacks.
