DeepSeek hits $45B valuation on efficient AI training model

Miami-based AI startup Subquadratic emerged from stealth claiming it solved a decade-old mathematical bottleneck in large language models. The company's new model, SubQ, reportedly runs faster, cheaper, and more energy-efficiently than competitors while processing up to 12 times more text simultaneously. Third-party testing by Appen has now validated some of these claims, though the model remains unavailable for widespread testing.

Z.ai released GLM-5.2, a 753-billion parameter open-weights LLM that outperforms OpenAI's GPT-5.5 on multiple long-horizon coding benchmarks while costing one-sixth as much. The model features a 1-million-token context window and is available under an MIT license for local deployment, positioning it as an alternative for enterprises concerned about U.S. regulatory restrictions on proprietary AI models.

Tencent Holdings has invested $20 million in an AI lab founded by Junyang Lin, the former lead researcher behind Alibaba's Qwen models. Lin's new venture raised several hundred million dollars in its first funding round. The investment signals Tencent's interest in backing independent AI research talent and reflects ongoing competition among Chinese tech giants for AI expertise.

Mistral is in talks to raise €3 billion at a €20 billion valuation, nearly doubling its Series C valuation of €11.7 billion. The funding round would value the French AI company at approximately $23.15 billion. The raise reflects continued investor appetite for large language model developers outside the US market.