As the inception of DeepSeek sparks intense global discourse, the financial community turns its gaze towards its founder Liang Wenfeng and the quantitative powerhouse, Huanfang. The emergence of DeepSeek, born from a Chinese quantitative private equity company, has reverberated through the high-stakes arenas of Wall Street and Silicon Valley alike, bolstered by a youthful team predominantly sourced from esteemed Chinese universities, with an average age of around 28.

DeepSeek’s unique business model is noteworthy; it has never sought external financing, relying instead on the profits generated by Liang Wenfeng's Huanfang. This innovative approach has allowed the company to maintain full control over its operations and strategic direction. In his statements, Liang emphasized the sufficient research and development budget allocated by Huanfang, along with substantial annual charitable contributions that could be adjusted if necessary.

Among legal professionals and market analysts, reviews of this business arrangement have been mixed. A partner at a law firm remarked that Huanfang's ability to incubate DeepSeek is akin to a beacon of hope in the private equity sector, likening them to the likes of OpenAI, asserting that access to funds is crucial for innovation. However, the question remains: amidst the rapidly evolving landscape of global AI, how did DeepSeek rise to prominence as a formidable contender?

Liang Wenfeng attributes the firm’s success to Huanfang's technical expertise, which has its roots in artificial intelligence. The company initially explored numerous scenarios before making a strategic foray into financial markets. Founded in 2015, Huanfang is a hedge fund that utilizes AI for investments and has been at the forefront of the quantitative investment movement. The establishment of its AI team in 2019 marked a significant pivot, leading to the development of a proprietary deep learning platform.

By 2020, the launch of their 'Firefly No. 1' deep learning training platform equipped with 1100 GPUs signified a critical milestone in their journey. Through diligent exploration and leveraging advanced computational techniques, Liang and his team have not only amassed substantial wealth but have also gained invaluable experience in quantitative finance and high-performance computing.

Despite facing setbacks, including a nearly 50% decrease in management scale from its peak, by the end of 2024, Huanfang remained a leading player in quantitative investments, managing between 50 to 60 billion yuan.

Unlike a majority of quant firms, Huanfang's core team initially lacked traditional quantitative investment experience. It is interesting to note that many founding figures within the first batch of billion-yuan scale quant firms had backgrounds in Wall Street titans, like Millennium Management. In contrast, Liang Wenfeng, who completed both his undergraduate and graduate studies at Zhejiang University in information and electronic engineering, has been forging his path without such external corporate influences.

The collaboration among Huanfang’s diverse team has highlighted the firm's unique approach to investment strategy. Co-founder Xu Jin, who holds a Ph.D. in signal and information processing, brings valuable experience from his time at Huawei. Currently, as the Technical Director and Fund Manager, he oversees strategy research and directs the technology development team.

Huanfang officially established itself in 2015, encompassing two quant-focused private firms: Zhejiang Jiuzhang Asset Management Co., Ltd and Ningbo Huanfang Quantitative Investment Management Partnership. Both institutions are registered with the Asset Management Association of China and are controlled by Liang Wenfeng.

An impressive aspect of Huanfang is its primary focus on direct sales, a rarity among major quant firms. Liang has stated, “We may currently be the only large private equity firm that relies on direct sales. This model eliminates intermediary fees, allowing us to maintain higher profit margins on par with equivalent scales and performances.”

During his presentations, Liang has drawn attention to the distinct methodologies employed by quantitative firms as compared to traditional models, emphasizing the automation of investment decisions through quantitative methods, where portfolios are managed by servers rather than fund managers.

As the firm delves deeper into the realm of advanced artificial general intelligence (AGI), its strategic intentions have drawn curiosity. Some industry insiders have speculated whether market fluctuations prompted a fundamental shift within the company. Xu clarified, stating that Huanfang remains dedicated to its core mission while DeepSeek explores new horizons.

Originally branded as Huanfang Technology, the transformation into Jiuzhang Assets occurred due to regulatory changes that necessitated a reduction in their operational scope. Despite this alteration in nomenclature, the Huanfang brand persisted as a key identifier in the market. In October 2016, Huanfang introduced its first AI model, executing trades based on deep learning algorithms—an innovative leap that underscored the integration of advanced technology into investment strategies.

From 2018 onward, AI assumed a central role in the company’s growth narrative. The establishment of Huanfang AI, dedicated to foundational research in AI algorithms and applications, highlighted its commitment to AI-driven innovation. By 2020, the launch of the AI supercomputer 'Firefly No. 1,' boasting computational capabilities equivalent to 40,000 personal computers, marked a significant advancement in their technological arsenal.

This technological investment didn’t stop there; 'Firefly No. 2' arrived with an investment of over 1 billion yuan, Augmenting their computational power to 18 times that of its predecessor, featuring approximately 10,000 Nvidia A100 graphics cards. Only a handful of enterprises in China can match this scale of GPU deployment, emphasizing Huanfang's position within an elite class of AI-driven investment firms.

A significant challenge that remains in the realm of AI applications within quantitative finance is the current inadequacy of high-quality data, which complicates model development. Industry experts acknowledge that while AI models have potential, the present lack of sufficient quality data translates into complexities that may lead to overfitting and inefficiencies.

Liang has remained forthright regarding the firm's financial ethos, stating there are no immediate plans for new funding, with the principal issue being the ongoing global shortage of high-end chips. This statement underlines the theoretically sound financial stability afforded by Huanfang, which has provided DeepSeek with robust funding, supporting a research investment totaling 3 billion yuan.

The peak period for high-frequency quantitative trading saw Huanfang experience rapid expansion, as their quant products surged in popularity within the private equity sphere. By 2019, Huanfang had positioned itself among the top shareholders of over 20 listed companies, a testament to its success during a saturated market environment.

In 2021, supported by its advanced supercomputing capabilities, Huanfang's management scale crossed the 100 billion yuan threshold. However, navigating this growth proved to be challenging, as market saturation led to a homogenization of strategies. In response, Huanfang released announcements halting the subscription of all its products to manage strategy deployment effectively.

In 2023, representatives confirmed the cessation of fundraising efforts, citing that the current management scale of over 40 billion yuan aligns well with their operational strategy. By the close of 2024, Huanfang's products continued to generate impressive returns, with an average annual profit of 12.18%, affirming its standing within the industry.

Liang Wenfeng's financial success soaring alongside DeepSeek's valuation—as reported by Bloomberg researchers—places Liang among Asia's elite tech entrepreneurs, with estimates placing the firm's worth anywhere from 1 billion to 150 billion dollars. If the midpoint is taken, Liang’s holdings could render him one of the region's wealthiest individuals.