Liang Wenfeng, founder of the AI company DeepSeek, has seen his net worth more than double to $36 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. This increase follows DeepSeek's recent $7.4 billion funding round in June 2026, which valued the company at an estimated $50 billion. Liang's personal investment of $3 billion in this round, sourced from his quantitative hedge fund High-Flyer, helped maintain his substantial 78% stake in DeepSeek.
This significant boost places Liang Wenfeng as the wealthiest founder focused primarily on AI models, positioning him above prominent figures such as OpenAI president Greg Brockman, whose net worth is estimated at $25.5 billion, and Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei, with a fortune of $7.98 billion. Interestingly, OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman did not make the Bloomberg Top 500 list, with a reported net worth of $3.4 billion.
Liang's high equity retention, reportedly around 78%, in DeepSeek is a key factor in his increased wealth, a contrast to the more diluted stakes often seen in US-based AI companies that raise capital from a broader mix of investors. DeepSeek's valuation surged from an initial $10 billion in April to $50 billion, partly due to strong investor demand and state-backed funds participating in the funding round. Bloomberg's ranking specifically considers companies whose primary business and revenue are derived from AI models, excluding conglomerates and those in the AI supply chain like data centers and semiconductors. His $36 billion fortune also makes Liang the eighth-richest person in China.
