BEIJING, China – Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has officially released its V4 Pro model, stepping up efforts to compete with a growing number of powerful AI rivals in China.
DeepSeek said the V4-Pro-0813 model offers major improvements in AI agents and is available through its API, app and website. Okay News reports that the company is also increasing API prices for its V4 Pro and V4 Flash models while introducing separate peak and off-peak rates.
The launch is being closely watched because DeepSeek’s cheaper V4 Flash model performed better than an April preview of V4 Pro in several independent tests. The result was notable because the Pro version is intended to be the company’s more capable model and suggests DeepSeek made substantial improvements before the official release.
DeepSeek gained international attention after its R1 model went viral in early 2025, challenging the assumption that advanced AI systems require the huge development costs associated with leading US companies.
Its position has since come under pressure from Chinese competitors including Moonshot AI, Zhipu AI, MiniMax, Alibaba and ByteDance, which have continued to release new AI models and services.
The company is also trying to turn its technological reputation into a sustainable business. Reuters reported in July that DeepSeek was preparing a fundraising round that could value the company at about $74 billion, after it raised roughly $7.4 billion in its first external financing round in June.
The fundraising marks a shift for DeepSeek, which had previously avoided outside investment. The move reflects the rising cost of competing in AI, particularly the need for expensive computer chips, data centres and specialised workers.
DeepSeek plans to at least double its workforce across several areas, including data-centre operations and AI-agent development. The company has also increased private recruitment of chip-design engineers as it works on its own AI chips and seeks to reduce reliance on suppliers such as Nvidia and Huawei.
The V4 Pro launch therefore comes at a crucial point for DeepSeek as it faces stronger domestic competition while expanding its computing infrastructure, workforce and funding base.
