[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-deepseek-to-lead-400m-seed-round-for-robotics-ai-startup":10,"sections":34},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":24,"tags":25,"sources":29,"feedback":33,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":33,"total_tokens":33},11389,"deepseek-to-lead-400m-seed-round-for-robotics-ai-startup","DeepSeek to Lead $400M Seed Round for Robotics AI Startup","DeepSeek is leading a seed round that values robot-AI startup Winverse at about $400 million, with Meituan's Long-Z also investing, per Bloomberg.","DeepSeek is stepping out of chatbots and into robotics, leading a seed round that values a startup building AI for robots at $400 million before it has shipped a product.\n\nBloomberg reports that the Chinese AI lab will lead the first funding round for Winverse AI, a startup developing artificial intelligence for robots. The round itself totals just tens of millions of dollars, but investors are pricing the as-yet-unproven startup at about $400 million post-money. Meituan's investment arm, Long-Z, is also putting in money, according to people familiar with the deal. Neither Bloomberg's sources nor DeepSeek have detailed what Winverse's technology does or when it ships anything.\n\nThat follows a familiar script. AI labs and well-funded robotics startups have spent the past two years arguing that the next big platform shift lives in warehouses and factories, not chat windows. DeepSeek joining in, even with a modest seed check, suggests that argument now has serious money behind it in China too, not just Silicon Valley.\n\nA $400 million valuation on a company that hasn't shipped a product is standard practice in this market. Whether Winverse's robots are worth it is a separate question entirely.","[\"deepseek\",\"robotics\",\"funding\",\"startups\"]","2026-10-12T13:22:34.000Z","2026-10-12T14:41:37.185Z","2026-10-12T14:41:42.097Z","published",null,[],"startups",[26,27,28,24],"deepseek","robotics","funding",[30],{"name":31,"url":32},"The Next Web","https:\u002F\u002Fthenextweb.com\u002Fnews\u002Fdeepseek-winverse-ai-robot-seed-round",0,{"sections":35},[36,41,46,51,56,61,66,71,74,79,84,89,94,99],{"name":37,"slug":38,"count":39,"latest_published_at":40},"AI","ai",6967,"2026-10-12T15:20:00.000Z",{"name":42,"slug":43,"count":44,"latest_published_at":45},"Security","security",954,"2026-10-12T14:20:37.000Z",{"name":47,"slug":48,"count":49,"latest_published_at":50},"Policy","policy",496,"2026-10-11T20:06:43.000Z",{"name":52,"slug":53,"count":54,"latest_published_at":55},"Deals","deals",492,"2026-10-12T14:55:53.000Z",{"name":57,"slug":58,"count":59,"latest_published_at":60},"Hardware","hardware",237,"2026-10-12T13:24:45.000Z",{"name":62,"slug":63,"count":64,"latest_published_at":65},"Science","science",196,"2026-10-11T15:34:40.000Z",{"name":67,"slug":68,"count":69,"latest_published_at":70},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",192,"2026-10-12T14:07:13.000Z",{"name":72,"slug":24,"count":73,"latest_published_at":18},"Startups",121,{"name":75,"slug":76,"count":77,"latest_published_at":78},"Software","software",115,"2026-10-11T07:34:45.000Z",{"name":80,"slug":81,"count":82,"latest_published_at":83},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",111,"2026-10-12T11:22:24.000Z",{"name":85,"slug":86,"count":87,"latest_published_at":88},"General","general",71,"2026-10-12T16:10:40.000Z",{"name":90,"slug":91,"count":92,"latest_published_at":93},"Gaming","gaming",59,"2026-10-09T11:43:43.000Z",{"name":95,"slug":96,"count":97,"latest_published_at":98},"Reviews","reviews",35,"2026-10-12T14:00:00.000Z",{"name":100,"slug":101,"count":102,"latest_published_at":103},"How-To","how-to",8,"2026-10-05T09:00:00.000Z"]