Multiple independent sources have confirmed that Yan Wentao, a partner at Hillhouse Ventures, will soon join DeepSeek as its Chief Financial Officer. After a vacancy lasting one and a half years, the company has finally secured its top financial executive, a move widely interpreted as a sign that DeepSeek's IPO preparations are entering a new phase.
Born in 1991 and now 35 years old, Yan graduated from Fudan University. His early career was marked by impressive achievements, having held positions at Tencent Investment, H Capital, and Hillhouse Ventures since 2013. During his tenure at Hillhouse, he led or deeply participated in investments in dozens of leading companies, including ByteDance, Zhipu AI, MiniMax, Xiaohongshu, J&T Express, and Webull Securities.
Clearly, Yan's background differs significantly from that of a traditional finance-trained CFO, as his core expertise lies in primary market fundraising, tech startup valuation, and IPO equity structure design. Consequently, his arrival is being read as substantive progress in DeepSeek's IPO preparation efforts.
Given this context, it is likely that Yan's compensation package at DeepSeek will be heavily weighted toward equity incentives. Will he actually receive shares? For talent of this caliber, cash salary alone holds limited appeal, making stock options the decisive factor.
Previously, media reports revealed that DeepSeek has already selected CITIC Securities as its sponsor, launching preparations for a STAR Market listing. The company reportedly plans to submit its listing application by the end of 2026 at the earliest, with a target of officially going public in 2027.
It is worth noting that among China's so-called "AI Six Tigers" — Zhipu, MiniMax, Baichuan Intelligent, Moonshot AI, StepFun, and 01.AI — only the first two have already gone public. DeepSeek, which has risen rapidly from behind, has joined the other four in gradually announcing their own IPO plans.
Industry observers point out that investors transitioning to portfolio companies as capital market operators is not an isolated phenomenon. For instance, Hillhouse's Xue Zizhao joined MiniMax in 2023 as vice president of investment and financing, and GSR Ventures' Zhang Yutong joined Moonshot AI as president in 2024. For these individuals, moving from investor to executive may not necessarily bring higher cash compensation — equity remains the true source of returns.