Chinese artificial intelligence startup MiniMax Group is set to price its Hong Kong initial public offering at the top of its marketed range, raising at least HK$4.2 billion (approximately $538 million) in what could be the year's first major AI technology debut. The strong demand underscores continued investor appetite for China's AI champions, even as geopolitical tensions with the United States complicate the technology landscape.

The Shanghai-based company, backed by giants Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, plans to price 25.4 million shares at HK$165 each. Final pricing is expected on January 6, with trading set to begin on January 9. The IPO would value MiniMax at approximately $6.5 billion—a significant milestone for a company founded just three years ago.

A Pioneer in Chinese AI

MiniMax stands among China's first wave of large language model developers to seek a public listing. Founded in early 2022 by Yan Junjie, a former executive at AI unicorn SenseTime, the company has quickly established itself as a leading player in China's generative AI ecosystem.

The company's product portfolio spans multiple AI modalities:

  • MiniMax M1: The company's flagship large language model, designed to compete with OpenAI's GPT-4 and other frontier models
  • Hailuo-02: A multimodal model capable of processing text, images, and video
  • Speech-02: Advanced text-to-speech and speech recognition capabilities
  • Music-01: AI-generated music composition tools

Unlike some competitors that focus narrowly on text generation, MiniMax has pursued a multimodal strategy from the outset—betting that the future of AI lies in systems that can seamlessly integrate different forms of content.

Heavyweight Investor Backing

MiniMax has assembled an impressive roster of cornerstone investors for its IPO, a sign of confidence from sophisticated capital allocators:

  • Alibaba Group: China's e-commerce and cloud computing giant, which is building its own AI capabilities while also investing in promising startups
  • Abu Dhabi Investment Authority: One of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds, signaling international institutional interest
  • Boyu Capital: A leading Chinese private equity firm with deep technology expertise
  • Mirae Asset: South Korea's largest asset manager, representing cross-border Asian capital flows

Earlier investors include gaming company miHoYo (creator of Genshin Impact), Tencent, Hillhouse Investment, HongShan (formerly Sequoia China), and IDG Capital. The caliber of the investor base has helped MiniMax attract talent and navigate the competitive Chinese AI landscape.

The heavy institutional investor demand under the international tranche, which currently accounts for 95% of the offer, could see the firm exercise an option to upsize the IPO to as much as HK$4.8 billion.

Hong Kong's AI IPO Wave

MiniMax's listing spearheads a broader wave of Chinese AI companies seeking public capital in Hong Kong. The city has positioned itself as the preferred listing venue for Chinese technology firms, offering access to international investors while remaining within Beijing's regulatory orbit.

Other notable AI listings in the queue include:

Zhipu AI: Plans to raise up to HK$4.35 billion in a Hong Kong debut scheduled for January 8—just one day before MiniMax begins trading

Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor: A GPU maker focused on general-purpose AI computing chips, also listing this week

Edge Medical: A surgical robotics company leveraging AI for medical applications

Collectively, these listings represent billions of dollars in new capital flowing to Chinese AI companies—capital that will fund research, talent acquisition, and infrastructure buildout.

The DeepSeek Effect

Investor appetite for Chinese AI has intensified since the emergence of DeepSeek, a homegrown alternative to ChatGPT that has gained traction in China. DeepSeek's success demonstrated that Chinese developers could create competitive AI systems despite U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips.

Additional catalysts have included Meta's acquisition of Manus, a Chinese robotics startup, which signaled that Western technology giants view Chinese AI talent as world-class. The combination of technical validation and strategic interest has fueled expectations of robust deal flow throughout 2026.

Hong Kong raised $36.5 billion from 114 new listings in 2025—its strongest year since 2021 and more than triple the roughly $11.3 billion raised in 2024. AI and semiconductor companies have been central to this revival.

Navigating Geopolitical Headwinds

MiniMax's IPO occurs against the backdrop of intensifying U.S.-China technology competition. American export controls have restricted Chinese access to the most advanced AI chips and manufacturing equipment, forcing companies like MiniMax to develop workarounds or rely on less capable domestic alternatives.

The restrictions create both challenges and opportunities:

Challenges: Limited access to Nvidia's most powerful GPUs constrains training capacity for frontier models. Chinese AI systems may lag behind American counterparts in raw capability.

Opportunities: The restrictions have accelerated domestic chip development efforts and created a protected market for Chinese AI solutions. Companies that can deliver competitive products with available hardware enjoy significant advantages.

For MiniMax, the key question is whether its multimodal AI platform can achieve commercial success in Chinese enterprise and consumer markets—markets that are large enough to sustain significant businesses even without access to Western customers.

Valuation Context

At $6.5 billion, MiniMax's valuation places it among China's most valuable AI startups. For context:

  • MiniMax: $6.5 billion (post-IPO)
  • Zhipu AI: Expected valuation in a similar range
  • ByteDance: China's most valuable private technology company, valued at over $300 billion, with significant AI investments
  • OpenAI: Reportedly valued at over $150 billion in its most recent funding round

The comparison with OpenAI illustrates the valuation gap between Chinese and American AI leaders—a gap that reflects both market size differences and the head start that U.S. companies enjoy with frontier models.

Investment Considerations

For international investors, MiniMax's IPO presents several considerations:

Growth potential: China's AI market is projected to grow rapidly, and MiniMax is well-positioned to capture enterprise and consumer adoption.

Execution risk: The company faces intense competition from well-funded rivals including Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent's own AI initiatives.

Regulatory uncertainty: Chinese AI regulation continues to evolve, potentially affecting product development and commercialization timelines.

Geopolitical exposure: U.S.-China tensions could affect investor sentiment, partnership opportunities, and supply chain access.

The Bottom Line

MiniMax's $538 million Hong Kong IPO represents a significant vote of confidence in China's AI ambitions. The strong institutional demand—with the deal likely to price at the top of its range—signals that investors believe Chinese AI companies can thrive despite technology restrictions. As Hong Kong emerges as the capital market hub for Chinese AI, MiniMax's trading debut on January 9 will set the tone for what promises to be a year of intense activity in the sector. For investors seeking exposure to China's AI development, the door is officially open.