What began as a side hustle less than two years ago could turn DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng into one of the world’s richest people — or a mere billionaire.

It all depends on who you ask.

The company is worth anywhere from about US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion) to more than US$150 billion, according to seven startup founders and AI experts. The mid-range puts the firm between US$2 billion and US$30 billion, which would place Liang with his 84 percent stake among Asia’s wealthiest tech tycoons, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

“Even staying on the conservative side, the company could easily obtain a valuation in the billions with only a few million in existing revenue — not to mention taking future growth into account,” said Rudina Seseri, founder and managing Partner of Glasswing Ventures, a Boston-based venture capital firm. Seseri estimates DeepSeek to be worth at least US$1 billion based on peers such as Anthropic and OpenAI.