Liang Wenfeng built High-Flyer as a quantitative investment firm and later founded DeepSeek, using trading profits and technical expertise to finance an ambitious AI lab. [1][2]
A fortune that began in quantitative investing
Forbes says Liang cofounded High-Flyer in 2015 with college classmates and used mathematical and AI techniques to build it into a major Chinese quantitative investment firm. The hedge fund became the financial base for his later AI work. [1]
Liang launched DeepSeek in 2023 and funded its early development in part with proceeds from High-Flyer, according to Forbes. That makes his fortune unusual among AI founders because the new lab grew from an already profitable investment business rather than only venture financing. [1]
DeepSeek becomes the larger wealth driver
DeepSeek's own releases show the company developing and publishing frontier language models, including DeepSeek-V3 in late 2024. Forbes says a 2026 financing valued DeepSeek at $52 billion, making the private AI company a major component of Liang's current external wealth estimate. [2][1]
Sources for background
Sources reviewed Sep 8, 2026.
- Liang Wenfeng · Forbes · Mar 10, 2026
- DeepSeek-V3 · DeepSeek · Dec 26, 2024
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