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MiniMax, China’s Second ‘AI Tiger’, Doubles in Hong Kong IPO Debut

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Shares of MiniMax Group, one of China’s so-called “AI tigers,” surged on their first day of trading in Hong Kong on Friday, with the stock more than doubling as investors piled into the consumer-focused artificial intelligence firm.

MiniMax closed at HK$345 per share, compared with its offer price of HK$165, valuing the company at around $13.7 billion. The shares climbed as high as HK$351.8 during the session. The strong debut followed the company’s initial public offering, which raised about HK$4.8 billion ($620 million) to fund research and development.

The performance outpaced that of fellow AI tiger Zhipu AI, which rose 13% in its Hong Kong debut a day earlier. Zhipu AI extended gains on Friday, climbing another 20.6% and pushing its valuation close to $9 billion.

Analysts said MiniMax’s focus on consumer-facing applications helped fuel investor enthusiasm. “MiniMax’s consumer orientation appealed more to investors seeking high-growth opportunities, while Zhipu’s enterprise and government focus was seen as more stable but less exciting,” said Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at Omdia. He added that strong benchmark results for MiniMax’s open-source foundation models also boosted sentiment.

Founded in early 2022 by former SenseTime executive Yan Junjie, the Shanghai-based company develops multimodal AI models capable of processing text, audio, images, video and music. Its popular products include Hailuo AI, a video generation tool, and Talkie, an AI character interaction app that allows users to engage with virtual personas.

“This is only the beginning,” Yan said at the listing ceremony, adding that he hoped the pace of technological progress in AI would remain rapid over the coming years.

MiniMax’s cornerstone investors include Alibaba Group, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Boyu Capital and Mirae Asset. The listing comes amid strong global investor appetite for AI-related stocks, as China accelerates efforts to build homegrown technology champions.

Hong Kong has seen a sharp rebound in IPO activity, emerging last year as the world’s leading listing venue. Companies raised about $37.2 billion from 115 new listings, the highest level since 2021, according to LSEG data.

Bollywood Stars Sue Google Over AI Deepfakes, Seek Protection for “Personality Rights

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India’s most famous celebrity couple, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, have taken legal action against Google’s YouTube, demanding stronger protections for their voice, image, and likeness in the age of artificial intelligence.

The Bachchans filed lawsuits in the Delhi High Court seeking removal of AI-generated videos that use their likeness without consent and asking the court to require Google to implement safeguards to prevent such YouTube videos from being used to train other AI platforms.

The filings, reviewed by Reuters, argue that YouTube’s data and AI-sharing policies allow creators to consent to third-party use of uploaded content for AI training, which could cause widespread replication of infringing or misleading material.

“Such content being used to train AI models has the potential to multiply the instances of use of any infringing content,” the filings stated.

INDIA’S ‘PERSONALITY RIGHTS’ GAP

India has no explicit law protecting personality rights — the legal ownership of one’s image, name, and voice — unlike the United States. But Bollywood stars have increasingly turned to courts for relief as AI-generated deepfakes spread across social media.

In 2023, a Delhi court barred the unauthorized use of actor Anil Kapoor’s voice, image, and catchphrases. The Bachchans’ case, however, marks the most high-profile clash yet between Bollywood and big tech over AI exploitation.

The lawsuits accuse YouTube of hosting “egregious,” “sexually explicit,” and “fictitious” AI videos depicting the couple in fabricated scenarios — such as Abhishek kissing another actress, or Aishwarya dining with ex-boyfriend Salman Khan while Abhishek fumes nearby.

The court has already ordered the removal of 518 infringing links and posts, ruling that they harmed the couple’s reputation and caused financial damage. Yet similar videos remain visible on YouTube, Reuters found.

GOOGLE UNDER PRESSURE

The Bachchans are seeking $450,000 in damages and a permanent injunction against further misuse. Their legal team argues that YouTube’s data-sharing policy, which lets users opt to share videos for AI training with firms like OpenAI, Meta, or xAI, enables the spread of harmful deepfakes.

Legal experts say the couple’s case will test how far Indian courts are willing to hold tech platforms accountable.

“It wouldn’t be beyond the pale for the court to nudge YouTube to revise its user policies or create a fast-track system for celebrity complaints,” said Eashan Ghosh, an intellectual property professor at National Law University Delhi.

AI AND BOLLYWOOD COLLIDE

YouTube’s AI ecosystem in India is massive — the company says it has paid $2.4 billion to Indian creators in the last three years, and its 600 million users make it YouTube’s largest market. Some creators now profit by posting AI-generated Bollywood content.

A YouTube channel called “AI Bollywood Ishq” has posted 259 videos with 16.5 million views, showing AI-generated “love stories” starring Bollywood lookalikes. One popular video features Aishwarya Rai and Salman Khan in a swimming pool; another shows Abhishek Bachchan fighting Khan.

The channel claims to use Grok AI and Chinese startup MiniMax’s Hailuo AI to generate videos from simple text prompts. Its page states:

“Content is made only for entertainment and creative storytelling.”

The Delhi High Court has ordered Google to submit written responses before the next hearing on January 15, 2026.