DeepSeek backs robotics AI

Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reports that DeepSeek has agreed to lead the first funding round for Winverse AI, a startup building AI for robots.

The seed round is worth tens of millions of dollars. After the investment, Winverse AI would be valued at about $400 million.

Who's involved

  • DeepSeek: Lead investor in the round.
  • Long-Z: Meituan's investment arm, which has also committed.
  • Winverse AI: A startup developing AI for robots.

Why it matters

DeepSeek has so far been known mainly for its own language models. This move suggests the company is expanding into robotics and "physical AI." Robotics AI has become one of the areas drawing the most attention from both investors and major tech companies.