China’s OpenAI Rival Zhipu Debuts In HK After $558 Million IPO
Zhipu is the first of China’s “AI tigers,” which are startups building large language models to rival OpenAI Inc. and Anthropic PBC, to go public.
Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC Ltd. will start trading in Hong Kong on Thursday after a $558 million initial public offering, becoming the first major Chinese generative-AI startup to list.
The company, better known as Zhipu, offered 37.4 million shares at HK$116.20 ($14.9) apiece to investors last week. Its shares allocated to retail investors were subscribed by more than 1,159 times. Shares rose as much as 35% in the gray market ahead of its debut.
Zhipu is the first of China’s “AI tigers,” which are startups building large language models to rival OpenAI Inc. and Anthropic PBC, to go public. Their ambitions are curbed by US export controls restricting access to advanced chips from firms like Nvidia Corp. The listing offers an early test of whether markets view these companies as credible challengers to US peers.
“We have a positive view of this IPO,” analyst Douglas Kim wrote in a note on Smartkarma, estimating the shares to trade at nearly double the issue price. Many investors are willing to pay for such high valuations mainly due to Zhipu’s position as one of the leaders in the segment, he said.
Zhipu’s listing comes as Chinese semiconductor firms — a key component in the AI supply chain — are rushing to raise funds. Graphics processing units maker Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor Co. will also debut on Thursday. Zhipu’s local rival MiniMax Group Inc. is set to list Friday after a $619 million IPO.
Chip designer Shanghai Biren Technology Co. made a strong debut last week, marking the best first-day performance since 2021 among major Hong Kong listings. Moore Threads Technology Co. and MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co. also soared on their listing day in Shanghai last month.
“This reflects robust investor interest as China continues to strengthen domestic AI capabilities and broader technology leadership,” said Minyue Liu, associate investment director at Fidelity International. Still, “investor enthusiasm has been accompanied by an ongoing debate around the risk of an AI-related market bubble.”
Zhipu’s market capitalization of $6.6 billion based on the issue price values the company lower than chipmakers Biren, Moore Threads and MetaX.
Read more: Zhipu Grows Revenue and Users on Path to China’s First AI IPO
Zhipu, founded in 2019 by researchers from China’s Tsinghua University, is celebrated as a pioneer in the nation’s AI industry. It is backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and several local government funds.
That support helped the company win contracts from state-owned enterprises, which prefer building customized AI infrastructure rather than tapping public cloud services. Zhipu mainly serves domestic institutions.
The Beijing-based company reported revenue of 312.4 million yuan in 2024. Zhipu plans to use 70% of the IPO proceeds toward research and development of its general-purpose large AI models, according to its prospectus.
“China AI was the new narrative in 2025 and will likely be even stronger in 2026,” Sanford C. Bernstein’s analysts led by Qingyuan Lin wrote in a note. The market has begun “to recognize that China’s AI development is only months behind global leaders.”
