China AI Startups Raise Record 307.7 Billion Yuan in H1 2026, DeepSeek's 51 Billion Yuan Round Dominates
English summary
China's AI sector saw 1,203 equity financing events totaling 307.68 billion yuan in the first half of 2026, already exceeding the full-year 2025 total. DeepSeek's 51 billion yuan Series A round in June was the single largest deal and drove a monthly surge to over 100 billion yuan. The top four cities—Beijing, Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen—accounted for 74% of deals and 86% of total funding, with Beijing leading at 95.5 billion yuan. By sub-sector, large model companies captured half of all capital at 159.85 billion yuan, followed by AI-embodied intelligence (90.64 billion yuan) and AIGC applications (59.61 billion yuan). Early-stage investments heavily favored world-model startups, while no pure large model ventures appeared among the top 10 early-stage deals, signaling that the large model startup window is closing.
Chinese summary
2026年上半年，中国AI赛道共发生1203起股权融资事件，总金额达3076.82亿元，已远超2025年全年水平。6月DeepSeek完成510亿元A轮融资，推动单月融资额突破千亿。北京、杭州、上海、深圳四城贡献了七成以上交易量与近九成资金，其中北京以955亿元居首。细分赛道中，大模型公司吸纳了1598.53亿元，占总量过半；具身智能与AIGC应用分别以906.44亿元和596.05亿元紧随其后。早期投资集中押注世界模型企业，而前十大早期融资中未出现纯大模型公司，显示通用大模型创业窗口基本关闭。
Key points
Total AI funding in H1 2026 reached 307.68 billion yuan across 1,203 deals, surpassing the 2025 full-year total.
2026年上半年AI融资总额达3076.82亿元，共1203笔交易，超过去年全年。
DeepSeek's 51 billion yuan Series A round in June accounted for the single largest deal and lifted the monthly total above 100 billion yuan.
6月DeepSeek的510亿元A轮融资推动当月融资额破千亿，成为最大单笔交易。
Beijing (95.5B yuan), Hangzhou, Shanghai, and Shenzhen dominated, capturing 86% of total funding; Hangzhou rose to second place due to DeepSeek.
北京以955亿元居首，杭州因DeepSeek跃居第二，四城合计占融资总额86%。
Large model firms absorbed half of all capital (159.85B yuan); embodied intelligence and AIGC apps were the next largest sub-sectors.
大模型赛道吸走一半资金（1598.53亿），具身智能和AIGC应用分列第二、三位。
Early-stage top 10 were dominated by world-model companies, and no pure large model startups appeared, indicating the window for generic large model startups has closed.
早期前十大融资中世界模型企业占主导，纯大模型公司缺席，反映通用大模型创业窗口关闭。