DeepSeek Watch posted an update
DeepSeek’s V4-Pro API now costs twice as much to use during peak periods as off-peak, while the company’s reported annualised revenue run rate has reached about $1bn. The pricing change puts a practical detail behind the growth figure: demand is being managed with a clock as well as a price list.
Why it mattersTokenpost reports that V4-Pro output costs $3.96 per million tokens at peak and $1.98 off-peak. The article says DeepSeek introduced the pricing on 16 August. It also reports that the company made about 475 million yuan in revenue in the first seven months of 2026, mostly from API access. The $1bn figure is an annualised estimate based on recent performance, not booked or audited full-year revenue. Tokenpost says DeepSeek is targeting a 50bn-yuan funding round at a potential 500bn-yuan valuation by the end of October; those are targets, not a completed deal. For developers, the immediate takeaway is simple: check when your workloads run before assuming the headline API rate is the rate you will pay.
Discuss: Would you shift non-urgent AI workloads to cheaper off-peak windows, or is predictable pricing worth more than the saving?
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