China's generative AI tiger MiniMax pursues Hong Kong IPO to expand global reach

Core Viewpoint - MiniMax, a Chinese AI start-up, is planning to raise funds through an IPO in Hong Kong to enhance its research and development capabilities, aiming to compete with both domestic and international rivals [1][2]. Group 1: IPO Details - MiniMax is targeting a listing as early as January, with an IPO size estimated between HK$4 billion (US$514 million) and HK$5 billion, although this figure has not been finalized [2]. - The company has filed its listing application confidentially with the Hong Kong stock exchange and is awaiting approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission [3]. Group 2: Market Position and Competition - MiniMax generates 70% of its revenue from overseas and is focusing on attracting international investors through its IPO [1]. - The company is among the four new generative AI firms in China, alongside Zhipu, Baichuan, and Moonshot AI, with Zhipu also considering a Hong Kong listing around the same time [4]. - The upcoming IPOs will gauge investor interest in mainland Chinese AI companies amid increasing competition to develop efficient services and challenge Western leaders like OpenAI [5]. Group 3: Technological Focus - MiniMax is concentrating on developing multimodal AI models, including MiniMax M2, Hailuo 2.3, Speech 2.6, and Music 2.0, which can process various forms of media [6]. - The company is recognized for being one of the first in China to implement a "mixture-of-experts" (MoE) architecture on a large scale, a method that has gained popularity following its adoption by DeepSeek [6]. Group 4: Industry Perspective - The founder of MiniMax, Yan Junjie, believes that Chinese AI companies are rapidly closing the gap with US counterparts, despite the latter having significantly higher valuations and revenues [7].