DeepSeek Introduces Peak and Off-Peak Pricing for V4-Pro API
The company’s reported annualized revenue reached about $1 billion in September as it targets a $7.5 billion funding round at a valuation near $75 billion.
DeepSeek introduced peak and off-peak pricing for its V4-Pro application programming interface on Aug. 16, 2026, as the artificial-intelligence company’s reported annualized revenue reached approximately $1 billion in September.
The figure is a projection of recent performance across a full year, not booked revenue for all of 2026. DeepSeek is reportedly targeting 50 billion yuan, equivalent to $7.45 billion to $7.5 billion, at a 500 billion yuan valuation worth roughly $74 billion to $75 billion. The reported round could close by the end of October 2026.
The financing is described as a target, with no confirmation of closing, participating investors or final ownership arrangements.
DeepSeek generated about 475 million yuan, or approximately $70.7 million, in revenue during the first seven months of 2026. Its commercial revenue comes primarily from application programming interface access to its artificial-intelligence models, while its consumer chatbot has been described as free.
The company’s API model prices increased 2.3 times to 4.5 times. Through July, the API business recorded an 82.9% gross margin, compared with a reported 44.6% overall gross margin.
A valuation of about $75 billion would equal roughly 75 times the $1 billion annualized revenue estimate. That comparison is based on an unconfirmed run rate rather than audited annual sales.
DeepSeek introduced peak and off-peak pricing for its V4-Pro API effective Aug. 16, 2026, at noon ET (16:00 UTC). Its pricing page lists V4-Pro output at $3.96 per 1 million tokens during peak periods and $1.98 during off-peak periods.
The reported financing target has a stated deadline of the end of October 2026.
