Core Viewpoint - The competition for the title of "first stock of large models" is intensifying, with companies like MiniMax and Zhiyuan at the forefront, despite a general decline in the hype surrounding large model startups [5][6][12]. Group 1: Company Developments - MiniMax is reportedly preparing for an IPO, with recent financing of nearly $300 million, leading to a post-money valuation exceeding $4 billion (approximately 287 billion RMB) [8][27]. - The founder of MiniMax, Yan Junjie, has gained significant attention, recently speaking at the WAIC and being seen as a key figure in the industry [7][9]. - MiniMax has launched several products and models, including the MiniMax-M1 and Hailuo series, indicating a strong focus on product development ahead of its IPO [26][25]. Group 2: Competitive Landscape - The competition for the "first stock" is primarily between MiniMax and Zhiyuan, both of which have met the three-year operational requirement for IPO eligibility [12][14]. - Zhiyuan has already initiated its IPO process, while MiniMax is also preparing for a potential listing, with both companies eyeing the same market [12][13]. - The urgency for an IPO is driven by the need to secure market position and capitalize on the high valuation potential associated with being the first in the sector [16][17]. Group 3: Market Context - The large model sector is experiencing a rapid deflation of valuations, prompting companies to seek IPOs to secure funding and market presence [17][20]. - Historical context shows that being the first to list can lead to significant market advantages, as seen with previous AI companies [19][20]. - The current environment suggests that only a few large model companies will successfully go public, with intense competition for limited opportunities [20][21].

Group 1 - MiniMax, one of the "AI Six Tigers," is nearing completion of a new funding round of nearly $300 million, which will raise its valuation to over $4 billion (approximately 30 billion yuan) [1] - MiniMax was founded in December 2021 by Yan Junjie, a former vice president of SenseTime, and has previously raised $600 million in Series A funding led by Alibaba, with a post-money valuation of $2.5 billion [1][4] - The company is reportedly preparing for an IPO in Hong Kong, following a trend among other "AI Six Tigers" companies [1][4] Group 2 - In June, MiniMax launched a "Technology Release Week," announcing breakthroughs in foundational models, multimodal technology, and general intelligence agents [2] - The company introduced the MiniMax-M1, claimed to be the world's first open-source large-scale hybrid architecture inference model, capable of supporting the highest industry input of 1 million contexts and 80,000 tokens output [2] - The M1 model requires significantly less computational power compared to competitors, with only 30% of the computing power needed for 80,000 token deep inference compared to DeepSeek R1 [3] Group 3 - Other companies in the "AI Six Tigers" are also preparing for IPOs, with Zhizhu being the first to initiate the IPO process, aiming for a listing in A-shares by October 2025 [4][5] - Zhizhu has completed five rounds of financing, accumulating over 16 billion yuan in total funding, with a latest valuation of 40 billion yuan [4] - The industry is witnessing a trend of differentiation, with some companies like Lingyi Wanshu and Baichuan Intelligence shifting focus away from foundational models to more specialized applications [5]

Core Viewpoint - MiniMax, a large model company, is nearing completion of a new financing round of approximately $300 million, with a post-investment valuation exceeding $4 billion [3][4]. Group 1: Company Overview - MiniMax was founded by Yan Junjie at the end of 2021, who previously held senior positions at SenseTime [6]. - The company has focused on multi-modal capabilities from its inception, differentiating itself from many competitors that primarily focus on large language models [6]. - MiniMax has released various models in 2023, including large language models, speech generation models, video generation models, and image-text understanding models [6]. Group 2: Product and Market Performance - MiniMax's AI role-playing product, Glow, and its overseas version, Talkie, have seen significant user engagement, with a total daily active user count of approximately 3 million for Talkie and Glow [7]. - The video generation model Hailuo series has nearly 15 million users, ranking just behind Kuaishou [7]. - MiniMax's revenue is projected to exceed $70 million in 2024, with a strategic focus on accelerating technology iteration rather than immediate growth or revenue [8]. Group 3: Competitive Landscape - The competitive landscape includes other companies like Zhiyuan and the remaining "six small dragons" of large models, with Zhiyuan also initiating an IPO process [9]. - In comparison to Silicon Valley counterparts, domestic companies like MiniMax face significant valuation and funding disparities [10]. - Notable valuations in the U.S. market include OpenAI at $300 billion and Anthropic at $61.5 billion, highlighting the competitive funding environment [10].