Saturday, January 10, 2026

China’s First “AI Tiger” Makes Waves: Zhipu Thrives in Hong Kong Debut

Zhipu AI, officially Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC, made a successful debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, following a significant $558 million IPO. Priced at 116.20 Hong Kong Dollars ($15), shares surged 15%, valuing the company at approximately HK$4.3 billion. As China’s first major large language model (LLM) firm to go public, Zhipu’s listing exemplifies the rapid growth of the AI sector, alongside recent AI chipmaker launches. Founded in 2019 by leading researchers, the Beijing-based startup operates internationally with offices in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Middle East, establishing innovation centers across Southeast Asia. Despite facing U.S. restrictions and being placed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List due to ties with China’s military, Zhipu plans to allocate 70% of its IPO proceeds toward R&D for AI models. With rising competition, including the upcoming IPO of MiniMax, Zhipu stands poised in the race for AI leadership against global giants like OpenAI.

Source link

Share

Read more

Local News