TECH

Zhipu AI Seeks Up to $640 Million in Hong Kong IPO

Published: Dec. 30, 2025 3:15 p.m. GMT+8

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Zhipu AI’s shares are set to begin trading on Jan. 8. Photo: VCG

Chinese artificial-intelligence startup Zhipu AI has set the price for its Hong Kong initial public offering, valuing the company at HK$51.8 billion ($6.7 billion) in a listing that serves as a critical test for China’s capital-hungry artificial intelligence sector.

The Beijing-based startup, officially registered as Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co. Ltd., finalized the issuance of 37.42 million new shares at HK$116.20 each on Tuesday. If an over-allotment option is exercised, the total issuance could reach around 43 million shares, allowing the company to raise approximately HK$5 billion. The stock is scheduled to begin trading on Jan. 8.

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Zhipu AI set its Hong Kong IPO price, valuing the company at HK$51.8 billion ($6.7 billion), issuing up to 43 million shares to raise around HK$5 billion.
About 70% of proceeds will fund general-purpose AI model R&D (2026–2028); the rest will go to platform, partnerships, and working capital.
For H1 2025, Zhipu AI reported revenue of $27.3 million, but a net loss of $329 million due to sharply rising development costs.

AI generated, for reference only

Who’s Who

Zhipu AI: Zhipu AI, also known as Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co. Ltd., is a Chinese AI startup founded in 2019 and incubated at Tsinghua University. It recently priced its Hong Kong IPO, valuing the company at $6.7 billion. Despite significant revenue, Zhipu AI reported a net loss of 2.36 billion yuan in the first half of 2025 due to high development costs, especially computing power expenses. It aims to allocate 70% of its IPO proceeds to R&D of general-purpose large AI models.

Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co. Ltd.: Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co. Ltd. is the official registration name for Chinese AI startup, Zhipu AI. The Beijing-based company is a frontrunner in China's AI sector, having recently set its IPO price in Hong Kong, valuing the company at HK$51.8 billion ($6.7 billion). They plan to invest significantly in R&D for general-purpose large AI models.

Taikang Life Insurance Co. Ltd.: Taikang Life Insurance Co. Ltd. is one of the 11 cornerstone investors in Zhipu AI's Hong Kong IPO. They, along with GF Management Co. Ltd. and Shanghai Gaoyi Asset Management Partnership, accounted for nearly 70% of the subscribed shares.

GF Management Co. Ltd.: GF Management Co. Ltd. is one of 11 cornerstone investors in Zhipu AI's Hong Kong initial public offering. This entity has subscribed to a portion of the nearly 70% of shares on offer that were taken up by these investors.

Shanghai Gaoyi Asset Management Partnership: Shanghai Gaoyi Asset Management Partnership is one of eleven cornerstone investors in Zhipu AI's Hong Kong IPO. This partnership has subscribed to nearly 70% of the shares offered, demonstrating significant investment in the AI startup.

Baichuan AI: Baichuan AI, founded by former Sogou CEO Wang Xiaochuan, is one of China's "Six Little Tigers" in the AI sector. Facing pressure from competitors and capital constraints, Baichuan AI has shifted its strategy. Instead of focusing heavily on foundational models, it is now prioritizing industry-specific applications, including healthcare and gaming. This redirection aims to create more immediate commercial value.

01.AI: 01.AI, founded by Kai-Fu Lee, is one of the "Six Little Tigers" in China's AI sector. Faced with market pressures, it has scaled back investment in foundational models. Instead, 01.AI is focusing on developing industry-specific applications, for example in healthcare and gaming. This strategic shift is a response to the high costs of foundational model research and the disruption caused by DeepSeek.

Moonshot AI: Moonshot AI, originally focusing on its Kimi consumer app, pivoted back to upgrading its underlying large AI models. This strategic shift occurred after DeepSeek's success highlighted the importance of core technology. This places Moonshot AI among a select few Chinese AI companies prioritizing dominance in the capital-intensive foundation model space.

MiniMax: MiniMax is a Chinese AI company that, along with Zhipu AI, is pursuing dominance in foundational AI models. This is a capital-intensive strategy. MiniMax also filed for a Hong Kong IPO in late December, signaling its need for public market support to fund its ambitions in core AI technology.

China Renaissance: According to Wang Lixing, CEO of China Renaissance, the valuation logic for AI companies has shifted. Instead of focusing on the broad narrative of artificial intelligence, the market now scrutinizes actual application delivery and the capabilities of their models.

AI generated, for reference only

What Happened When

2019：: Zhipu AI was founded and incubated at Tsinghua University.

Early 2025：: The open-source model DeepSeek gained widespread popularity, impacting Zhipu AI and other competitors.

January 8, 2025：: Zhipu AI's stock is scheduled to begin trading in Hong Kong.

The first half of 2025：: Zhipu AI reported revenue of 191 million yuan and a net loss of 2.36 billion yuan.

By mid-year 2025：: Zhipu AI reduced its workforce from nearly 1,000 to around 800 employees; Chief Operating Officer Zhang Fan departed the company.