Shares of Chinese AI startup MiniMax Group doubled on their first day of trading in Hong Kong, closing at HK$345, up 109% from the offer price of HK$165. The company raised 4.8 billion Hong Kong dollars ($620 million) in the IPO, outperforming local rival Zhipu AI, whose shares rose 13% in its debut a day earlier.
Founded in 2022, MiniMax is backed by investors including Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings. It specializes in large language model applications such as chatbots, image generation, and video synthesis. Co-founders Yan Junjie (CEO) and Yun Yeyi (COO) previously worked at SenseTime, a prominent Chinese AI firm.
MiniMax reported revenue of $53.4 million for the nine months ending September 30, 2025, up 174% year-over-year, while posting a net loss of $512 million. Its services reach over 200 million cumulative users across 200 countries, with most revenue from subscriptions and in-app purchases. The company said it remains in an early stage of monetization after focusing on developing foundational models.
Proceeds from the IPO will fund continued research and development as MiniMax aims to expand globally and compete with U.S. AI companies. The listing marks the second major Chinese large language model developer to go public, reflecting growing investor interest in AI despite regulatory and chip export challenges.
