FINANCE

Zhipu Shares Jump After Lockup Expiry as Investors Signal Support

Published: Jul. 9, 2026 4:21 a.m. GMT+8

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Based on Zhipu's closing price of HK$1,610 per share on July 7, the market value of the unlocked shares is about HK$41.3 billion. Photo: VCG

Shares of Chinese artificial intelligence startup Zhipu AI rose 13% after its post-IPO lockup period expired, defying expectations of selling pressure as most of its cornerstone investors pledged to keep their holdings.

The rally underscored investor confidence in China’s leading generative AI developers, even as Hong Kong braces for about HK$240 billion ($30.6 billion) of newly tradable shares in July, a wave that could test market liquidity.

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Zhipu AI shares rose 13% after lockup expiry as cornerstone investors pledged to hold 63.9% of their IPO investments.
The rally defied selling pressure ahead of a broader HK$240 billion unlock wave in Hong Kong in July.
Zhipu is China's largest LLM developer by revenue, reporting 724 million yuan in 2025 revenue, up 132% year-on-year.

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Who’s Who

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What Happened When

2025：: Zhipu AI reported 724 million yuan in revenue, up 132% year-over-year, and an adjusted net loss of 3.2 billion yuan.

Early 2026：: Zhipu AI listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising $373.9 million from cornerstone investors, with a six-month lockup period for 25.7 million shares.

May 2026：: Zhipu AI shares began climbing sharply due to investor comparisons with Anthropic; after releasing the GLM-5.2 model, shares briefly touched HK$2,980, lifting market capitalization above HK$1 trillion.

July 7, 2026：: Zhipu AI's six-month post-IPO lockup expired for 25.7 million shares held by 11 cornerstone investors; shares rose 13%. JSC International Investment Fund SPC confirmed it planned to hold its stake.

July 7, 2026：: Chinese GPU developer Iluvatar CoreX also had a lockup expire, covering about 10.9 million cornerstone-investor shares.

July 8, 2026：: MiniMax shares rose 12% ahead of its lockup expiration. Lens Technology fell 4%, Edge Medical Robotics lost 1.1%, Ribo Life Science gained 7.1%, and the Hang Seng Index rose 3% while the Hang Seng TECH Index jumped 5%.

July 9, 2026：: Lockup expirations scheduled for MiniMax (over 48% of total share capital unlocked, worth about HK$55.5 billion), Lens Technology (largest single unlock, market value exceeding HK$70 billion), Edge Medical Robotics, and Ribo Life Science.