China’s first 'AI tiger' goes public as OpenAI rival Zhipu climbs in Hong Kong debut

Knowledge Atlas Technology JSC, commonly known as Zhipu, has successfully made its debut on the Hong Kong stock exchange, marking a significant milestone as the first of China's 'AI tigers' to go public. The company’s shares surged approximately 10% above their initial offer price of 116.20 Hong Kong Dollars ($15) on Thursday, following a robust $558 million initial public offering. This IPO values Zhipu at about HK$4.3 billion, positioning it among the more substantial AI listings seen in recent times. Established in 2019 by researchers from a prominent Chinese university, Zhipu stands out as the first major large language model company in China to transition to public trading. This listing is a notable development for the broader AI landscape in China, coinciding with a series of recent public offerings by AI chip manufacturers. Strongly supported by the Chinese government, Zhipu is recognized as one of the leading players in the AI sector, joining the ranks of other notable firms such as Deepseek, which previously made headlines with its competitive model release. Although Zhipu may not have the same level of international recognition as Deepseek, it gained attention when OpenAI acknowledged its advancements as a leading competitor in China's AI development race. Zhipu has established a global presence with offices in the United Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, and several locations throughout the Middle East. The company is also engaged in collaborative 'innovation centers' across Southeast Asia, including countries like Indonesia and Vietnam. Despite facing challenges, such as being placed on the U.S. Commerce Department's Entity List last year due to alleged connections with the Chinese military, Zhipu has continued to progress. U.S. restrictions on access to advanced semiconductor technology have posed additional constraints on the company’s ability to develop its AI models. According to its prospectus, Zhipu intends to allocate 70% of the funds raised from the IPO toward research and development of its general-purpose large AI models. The company reported a revenue of 312.4 million yuan for the year 2024, and it appears that competition in the sector will intensify, with rival AI startup MiniMax planning to launch its own offering soon.