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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.

Zhipu AI Launches Free AI Agent, Heats Up China’s Tech Race

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Chinese AI startup Zhipu AI has unveiled a free-to-use AI agent named AutoGLM Rumination, further intensifying the fast-growing artificial intelligence competition within China’s tech industry. The announcement was made by CEO Zhang Peng during a launch event in Beijing on Monday.

AutoGLM Rumination is capable of executing complex tasks such as deep research, web browsing, travel planning, and writing research reports. It is powered by Zhipu’s proprietary models — the reasoning model GLM-Z1-Air and the foundation model GLM-4-Air-0414. According to the company, GLM-Z1-Air rivals DeepSeek’s R1 in output quality but operates up to eight times faster, while demanding significantly less computing power — just one-thirtieth of the resources.

AI agents like AutoGLM are designed to autonomously perform tasks and make decisions, and their popularity is rapidly rising as firms strive to commercialize AI tools in practical, real-world settings. The move by Zhipu comes on the heels of Manus launching what it claimed was the world’s first general AI agent — albeit at a premium price of up to $199 per month. In contrast, Zhipu is offering its agent completely free via its official website and mobile app.

Founded in 2019 as a spinoff from a Tsinghua University laboratory, Zhipu AI has rapidly gained momentum and recognition. Its GLM series of large language models, particularly GLM4, are reported by the company to outperform OpenAI’s GPT-4 on several benchmarks.

This latest product launch is buoyed by a wave of government-backed support, with the company securing three rounds of funding in one month. The most recent came from the city of Chengdu, which invested 300 million yuan ($41.5 million) into Zhipu.

As the AI ecosystem in China accelerates, Zhipu’s free access model could prove disruptive — democratizing access to advanced AI tools while pushing other domestic rivals and global players to adjust their pricing and strategies.

US-Blacklisted Zhipu AI Secures Fresh Funding from Chinese State Firm

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Zhipu AI, a Chinese AI startup, has secured 500 million yuan ($69.04 million) in funding from Huafa Group, a state-owned conglomerate based in Zhuhai, Guangdong province. This follows the company’s earlier announcement in January of a separate 1 billion yuan capital raise. Huafa Group’s investment comes amid competition between Chinese cities to back promising AI startups, as Beijing views this sector as vital to its technological rivalry with the United States, according to Zhuhai Special Economic Zone Daily.

Earlier this month, Hangzhou City Investment Group Industrial Fund, a state-backed entity from Hangzhou, also participated in a major funding round for DeepSeek, a competitor of Zhipu AI, securing 1 billion yuan. This aligns with China’s push to strengthen its AI capabilities, as DeepSeek‘s large language models have gained attention for allegedly matching the performance of Western counterparts at lower development costs.

Founded in 2019, Zhipu AI is widely recognized as one of China’s “AI tigers”. The startup has drawn investments from prominent tech giants such as Tencent, Meituan, and Xiaomi, across over 15 funding rounds, according to business registration platform Qichacha. In July 2024, Zhipu AI was valued at 20 billion yuan.

The latest funds will be directed toward advancing the development of its GLM foundation model and furthering the company’s technological innovation and ecosystem expansion. However, this investment comes after Zhipu AI and its subsidiaries were added to the U.S. Commerce Department’s export control entity list in January, which prevents the company from procuring U.S.-made components.