DeepSeek founder is now world’s richest ‘AI Bro’, worth RM147 billion

DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng is now the world’s richest founder of a frontier AI company, with an estimated net worth of USD36 billion (around ~RM146.84 billion).

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, following DeepSeek’s latest fundraising round Liang’s fortune has more than doubled from USD16.7 billion, placing him ahead of Anthropic co-founder Dario Amodei and OpenAI president Greg Brockman among founders of companies focused primarily on AI models.

Liang’s wealth comes almost entirely from his stake in DeepSeek, whose valuation has surged from a reported USD10 billion in April to a USD50 billion valuation after raising USD7.4 billion in funding in June 2026. Bloomberg estimates Liang still owns around 78% of the company, an unusually large stake for the founder of a major AI startup.

Founded in 2023 as a spin-off from Liang’s hedge fund Zhejiang High-Flyer Asset Management, DeepSeek made sure just about everyone knew their name in early 2025 after releasing an AI model that matched the performance of leading US companies like OpenAI at a fraction of the cost. The company has since continued expanding its model lineup, with its latest V4 model also supporting AI chips developed by Huawei.

Unlike many Silicon Valley AI founders who have seen their ownership diluted through multiple funding rounds, Liang has retained a commanding stake in DeepSeek. That has helped propel him past his US counterparts despite OpenAI and Anthropic being valued significantly higher.

Liang’s estimated USD36 billion fortune also makes him China’s eighth-richest person, according to Bloomberg.

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