# DeepSeek Developing Indigenous AI Chip, Preparing for IPO

> DeepSeek, the Chinese lab that stunned the industry with cheap, capable models, is reportedly building its own inference chip to reduce dependence on Nvidia hardware. According to the Japan Times, the company is also weighing an IPO for late 2026 or 2027 and is seeking around 7 billion dollars to accelerate both its silicon and model work. The chip effort is the more telling detail. Export controls have made high-end Nvidia parts hard to secure in China, so building custom inference silicon is less a flex than a survival strategy. If DeepSeek can serve its own models on its own chips, it insulates itself from both supply shocks and pricing pressure. The economics are already aggressive. The company's V4 model is available at roughly 0.87 dollars per million output tokens, undercutting US rivals sharply. Pair that with in-house hardware and a war chest from public markets, and DeepSeek is positioning itself as a vertically integrated challenger rather than just a scrappy model shop.

_Section: [Daily AI Updates](https://www.wortins.com/daily-ai) · Source: Japan Times · Published Monday, July 20, 2026_

## Wortins' read

DeepSeek, the Chinese lab that stunned the industry with cheap, capable models, is reportedly building its own inference chip to reduce dependence on Nvidia hardware. According to the Japan Times, the company is also weighing an IPO for late 2026 or 2027 and is seeking around 7 billion dollars to accelerate both its silicon and model work. The chip effort is the more telling detail. Export controls have made high-end Nvidia parts hard to secure in China, so building custom inference silicon is less a flex than a survival strategy. If DeepSeek can serve its own models on its own chips, it insulates itself from both supply shocks and pricing pressure. The economics are already aggressive. The company's V4 model is available at roughly 0.87 dollars per million output tokens, undercutting US rivals sharply. Pair that with in-house hardware and a war chest from public markets, and DeepSeek is positioning itself as a vertically integrated challenger rather than just a scrappy model shop.

## Source

[Read the full story at Japan Times](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2026/07/08/tech/china-deepseek-ai-chip/)

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