烧钱换量、版权难题，MiniMax冲击IPO背后的AB面

Core Insights - MiniMax, a domestic large model company, has officially passed the Hong Kong Stock Exchange hearing and is initiating its IPO process, marking a significant step in the commercialization of large models in China [1][2] - MiniMax and its competitor, Zhipu, are taking opposite technical paths, with MiniMax focusing on consumer (C-end) business and global multimodal applications, while Zhipu targets business (B-end) and government (G-end) services [2] - MiniMax's revenue for the first nine months of 2025 reached $53.437 million, surpassing its total revenue for 2024, indicating rapid growth [4][5] Financial Performance - MiniMax's revenue is primarily derived from two segments: consumer subscriptions, virtual goods, and advertising, and API calls and Model as a Service (MaaS) for developers and enterprises [5] - The company reported a net loss of $1.25 billion from 2022 to the first three quarters of 2025, with high R&D expenditures being a core reason for the losses [2][20] - Despite ongoing losses, MiniMax's revenue growth is notable, with a projected increase from $3.46 million in 2023 to $30.523 million in 2024, and further to $53.437 million in 2025 [4][22] User Engagement - MiniMax's Talkie application, which focuses on AI companionship, accounts for approximately 70% of its revenue, demonstrating strong user engagement with an average monthly active user (MAU) growth from 3.1 million in 2023 to 27.6 million in 2025 [6][8] - The company has seen a significant increase in paid users for its AI native products, growing from 120,000 in 2023 to 1.77 million in the first nine months of 2025 [5][9] Competitive Landscape - MiniMax faces challenges in user retention, as the C-end products heavily rely on viral trends, leading to high marketing costs and questions about sustainable growth [8][24] - The company is also navigating a competitive environment with other domestic players like Kuaishou and ByteDance, which are rapidly advancing in AI model development [25][26] Legal Challenges - MiniMax is embroiled in copyright disputes, with major lawsuits from Disney and other studios alleging unauthorized use of copyrighted materials in its AI training processes [13][19] - The company is attempting to mitigate these legal risks by arguing for a "tool neutrality" stance, claiming that its AI tools do not intentionally infringe on copyrights [18][19] Strategic Outlook - MiniMax's future hinges on its ability to balance high R&D investments with sustainable revenue generation, as well as resolving ongoing copyright issues [20][23] - The company has outlined a four-dimensional strategy focusing on increasing R&D investment, expanding its C-end product matrix, enhancing localization in overseas markets, and scaling B-end business [28][29]