Chinese AI stocks shine as MiniMax leaps 109% on debut
Shares of Chinese artificial intelligence startup MiniMax surged 109 percent on Friday as the company made its stock market debut in Hong Kong, raising US$619 million and highlighting strong investor appetite for the country’s fast-growing AI sector.
Another Chinese AI company, Zhipu AI, also recorded gains, with its shares rising 20.6 percent on their second day of trading following a US$558 million initial public offering earlier this week, News.Az reports, citing AFP.
The IPOs come ahead of any listing announcements from major US AI startups such as OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, and Anthropic, which is behind the Claude chatbot.
Founded in 2022, MiniMax reports having around 200 million users and operates several applications, including its flagship video generation platform, Hailuo AI.
MiniMax’s chief executive officer, Yan Junjie, previously held an executive role at leading AI software firm SenseTime, which has been placed on the US Commerce Department’s blacklist.
Speaking at the company’s listing ceremony on Friday, Yan said the development and application of artificial intelligence rely not only on continuous technological innovation but also on the inclusivity and openness of the entire process. He added that the company expects the pace of progress in the AI industry over the next four years to match that seen during the past four years.
Co-founder and chief operating officer Yun Yeyi told Bloomberg that MiniMax has spent about US$500 million on optimisation and creative innovation.
The company said proceeds from the IPO will be used to fund research over the next five years, focusing on the development of foundation models and AI-native products.
MiniMax’s team includes researchers who previously worked at global technology companies such as Google and Microsoft, as well as Chinese firms including Alibaba and DeepSeek.
Revenue from overseas markets grew from US$100,000 in the nine months ending September 2024 to US$7.8 million during the same period in 2025, the firm said.
It recorded net losses of $512 million in September 2025.
MiniMax said it may continue to record net losses as it is still expanding and investing to support its long-term growth.
The startup also faces a US$75 million copyright lawsuit from Disney, Universal, and Warner Bros. Discovery over its video-generating tool.
The firm has maintained "there is insufficient evidence to support" the claims.
Analysts told AFP that profits were unlikely any time soon from Zhipu and MiniMax, the so-called Chinese "AI tigers" who compete with tech giants such as Alibaba and ByteDance.
Friday's shares performance shows investors have a "strong appetite for China's tech sector and the AI story", Gary Ng, senior economist at Natixis Corporate and Investment Banking, told AFP.
The whole AI sector is still at an early stage of development, which requires massive investment, he said, adding that profitability is "not the primary focus" for these startups.
"It is about the prospect of which country or firm has the upper hand in gaining market share and staying ahead of the tech curve," he added.
The large language model market in China is estimated to grow to 101.1 billion yuan (US$14.5 billion) by 2030, according to consultancy Frost and Sullivan.
AI will cumulatively contribute US$19.9 trillion to the global economy through 2030 and drive 3.5 percent of global GDP in that year, according to International Data Corporation.
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