Sprint for the "first stock" of AI big models! MiniMax、 Zhipu AI intensively conducts hearings at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange!

The capitalization journey of China's AI big model industry has reached a critical juncture, and the suspense of the ownership of the "world's first stock of big models" has officially begun. According to multiple authoritative sources, two major AI unicorn companies in China, MiniMax and Zhipu AI, have successively passed the listing hearing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this week. Zhipu AI participated in the hearing on December 16th, while MiniMax completed the hearing process on December 17th. Both companies have obtained overseas listing registration from the China Securities Regulatory Commission in advance. If the subsequent itinerary goes smoothly, the two cases will become the fastest cases of mainland enterprises going public in Hong Kong since the implementation of the "reporting system" new policy, and are expected to officially enter the Hong Kong stock market in early 2026.

The simultaneous sprint of the two companies towards the Hong Kong stock market not only marks the official entry of Chinese AI big model enterprises into the capital market, but also provides investors with a scarce opportunity to directly participate in the development of AI core industries. Among them, Zhipu AI is expected to become the first listed company in the Hong Kong stock market to focus on AGI based models as its core business, while MiniMax, which focuses on the multimodal field, is targeting the "first stock of multimodal big models". The two represent the two core technology directions of the big model track, and this "first stock" competition also reflects the differentiated competition pattern of the domestic big model industry. As of press time, Zhipu AI has "no comment" on the progress of the hearing, and MiniMax has not yet made a public response.

As one of the "Six Tigers" of the big model, the business strength of Zhipu AI has formed clear support. This enterprise, which originated from the computer technology transfer department of Tsinghua University, recently disclosed that its GLM coding plan for developers has exceeded RMB 100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR), with over 2.7 million paid customers for API business platform services, covering multiple large domestic technology companies. On the commercial level, the AI coding tool subscription plan launched by Zhipu AI in September this year has performed well, with a price of 20 yuan/month only one seventh of Anthropic Claude's, rapidly accumulating over 150000 users. Institutions predict that its revenue will achieve over 100% growth in 2025. The financing side is also strong. Zhipu AI completed multiple rounds of state-owned asset battle financing in March this year, and then quickly promoted stock reform and guidance filing, efficiently landing the IPO process.

MiniMax has gained a competitive advantage through technological breakthroughs and capital support. MiniMax, founded in 2021, completed a Series A financing of $600 million in March 2024, with a post investment valuation of $2.5 billion. It was led by Alibaba and followed by top institutions such as Tencent, Sequoia, and Hillhouse; In July 2025, it will receive nearly $300 million in Series C financing, with a valuation exceeding $4 billion, and its shareholder lineup covering internet giants and top venture capital firms. On the technological level, its new generation text model MiniMax-M2, released in October, achieved a total score of top five in the global authoritative evaluation list Artificial Analysis (AA) and ranked first in open source, becoming the first Chinese open source model to enter the top five in the world, and its technological strength has reached the top tier in the world. It is worth noting that MiniMax submitted a confidential application for listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as early as June this year, making it the first AI big model enterprise in China to launch an IPO on the Hong Kong stock market.

From the perspective of sponsorship lineup, both companies are equipped with top investment banking teams: Zhipu AI is sponsored by institutions such as CICC, while MiniMax has introduced investment banks such as UBS to provide support, demonstrating the recognition of its listing prospects by the capital market. Industry analysts pointed out that the intensive hearings between MiniMax and Zhipu AI not only inject capital power into the big model track, but also accelerate the global brand enhancement and industrial chain collaborative innovation of Chinese AI enterprises. Against the backdrop of increasingly fierce global AI competition, the capitalization journey of top enterprises will further promote a virtuous cycle of technology research and commercialization, providing new momentum for the high-quality development of the domestic AI industry.