The world of artificial intelligence has seen the rise of a new name at the top of the list of industry billionaires, as Yang Weifeng, founder of Chinese company DeepSeek, became the richest inventor of AI models in the world after his wealth increased to around $36 billion.

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, Yang's wealth doubled following his startup’s latest funding round, from an estimated value of $16.7 billion, surpassing prominent names in the artificial intelligence industry, including Dario Amodei, co-founder of Anthropic, and Greg Brockman from OpenAI.

The majority of Yang's wealth comes from his large stake in DeepSeek; estimates suggest he owns around 78% of the company’s shares after a massive funding round worth $7.4 billion, which raised the company’s valuation to around $50 billion.

Yang’s situation differs from many founders of AI companies in the United States, as he owns a large stake in his company, while many founders of competing companies have had to give up significant portions of their ownership to investors and venture capital funds during growth stages.

A journey from trading to leading the artificial intelligence revolution

Yang Weifeng was born in 1985 in China’s Guangdong province, studied electronic engineering and information and communication engineering at Zhejiang University, before entering the world of investment and technology.

In 2023, he founded DeepSeek as an extension of the AI department of his own hedge fund, Zhejiang High-Flyer Asset Management, which he co-founded with former university colleagues.

The company adopted a different strategy, benefiting from early investments in computer infrastructure and artificial intelligence chips, giving it the ability to develop advanced models despite restrictions on the export of certain American technologies to China.

The company that surprised AI giants

DeepSeek entered the global spotlight in 2025 after launching artificial intelligence models that achieved performance close to its US competitors like OpenAI, but at a much lower development and operational cost, sparking new competition in the global AI market.

Since then, the company has continued to strengthen its presence by developing new models and collaborating with Chinese technology companies, at a time when artificial intelligence is one of the most important sectors that governments and businesses around the world are betting on.

The rise of Yang Weifeng reflects a significant shift in the technological wealth map; after traditional internet company founders like Alibaba and Tencent dominated the scene for years, it seems that the age of artificial intelligence has begun to produce a new generation of billionaires.

With a fortune of $36 billion, Yang has become one of the most prominent figures in the global artificial intelligence race, at a time when major companies are competing to develop more powerful and less expensive models that could reshape the future of technology over the next few years.