The race to go public just got its first finisher. Zhipu AI became the world’s first large language model company to hit public markets today, beating OpenAI and Anthropic to the finish line despite their far larger valuations. The Beijing-based startup closed 13.2% higher at HK$131.50 on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange after surging as much as 15% during morning trading.
The company, officially Knowledge Atlas Technology, raised $558 million by pricing 37.4 million shares at HK$116.20 ($14.90) each. Retail investors oversubscribed the offering 1,159 times, signaling strong appetite for AI investments even as concerns about industry valuations continue to mount. The stock opened 3.27% higher and overcame an initial dip below its offering price before climbing steadily through the session.
Damilare Odedina
Founded in 2019 by professors from Tsinghua University, Zhipu develops large language models that claim to match ChatGPT and Claude. Its GLM-4 series competes directly with products from OpenAI and Anthropic.
Backed by heavyweights like Meituan, Tencent, Ant Group, and Xiaomi, the company pulls most of its revenue from Chinese state-owned enterprises and financial firms.
This listing is a major test case for the AI sector. While OpenAI and Anthropic have hit massive private valuations of $500 billion and $350 billion, neither has actually filed for an IPO yet. Both U.S. giants are reportedly laying the groundwork to go public this year, but Zhipu’s debut puts China in the lead for now.
The timing couldn’t be more strategic. OpenAI is projecting cumulative losses of $115 billion through 2029 while burning cash at a staggering rate to compete with Google. Anthropic, though more conservative with capital, faces its own pressure to justify its valuation in public markets. Zhipu’s successful debut tests whether investors still have appetite for AI companies despite mounting concerns about a potential AI bubble.
The path forward isn’t smooth. Zhipu posted losses of about $330 million on just $27 million in revenue during the first half of 2025, burning through capital at a rapid pace as it scales infrastructure. The company also faces U.S. headwinds after being placed on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List in January last year, restricting its access to American semiconductor technology. OpenAI even singled out Zhipu last June as a fast-rising rival on the “front line” of China’s AI race.
According to its prospectus, Zhipu plans to use 70% of the IPO proceeds toward research and development of its general-purpose large AI models. The company is expanding overseas through sovereign AI partnerships in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, with operations across Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and the UK.
Zhipu’s rival MiniMax debuts tomorrow on the same exchange, aiming to raise up to $539 million. Together, the two Chinese AI startups will have raised $1.1 billion before OpenAI and Anthropic file their S-1 forms. With 2026 shaping up to be a decisive year for AI valuations, Zhipu’s performance could set the tone for what analysts are calling the largest wave of tech IPOs in history.
Oluwajeminipe Fasheun-Motesho
