MiniMax Raises Another HK$16 Billion as Domestic Foundation Models Ignite a Financing Boom
MiniMax Secures HK$16 Billion in New Funding Round $MINIMAX-WP(00100)$
In early trading day, MiniMax completed a fresh financing round of HK$16 billion.
The transaction attracted a broad coalition of top-tier international sovereign wealth funds, long-only funds, leading Chinese institutional investors, and premier multi-strategy funds, with participation spanning Asia‑Pacific, Europe, and the U.S. markets. Among them were more than 20 long-only and sovereign investors, while a number of pre-IPO and cornerstone backers increased their stakes during this round.
According to sources, the offering drew interest from over 100 institutions and achieved 7× oversubscription. The initial deal size was set at roughly US$1.8 billion, but strong institutional demand pushed the final scale beyond US$2 billion. Against the backdrop of recent capital‑market volatility, the subscription metrics indicate that existing shareholders, cornerstone investors, and international long-term capital remain focused on MiniMax’s medium‑to‑long‑term fundamentals and its competitive position within the industry.
For large language model (LLM) companies, sustained capital is required for training, inference, compute-lockup arrangements, and global expansion. This new injection will further bolster MiniMax’s cash reserves, supporting subsequent investments in AI infrastructure, model R&D, and worldwide commercialisation.
MiniMax listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s Main Board in January, raising over HK$4.1 billion, and is also advancing its planned listing on the STAR Market (Shanghai’s Nasdaq‑style board).
Parallel Moves: Zhipu AI Launches ~HK$31.4 Billion Top‑Up Placement
In a related development, another Hong Kong‑listed LLM player, Zhipu AI, also unveiled a follow‑on financing – on July 9 it announced a rights‑style placing of approximately HK$31.4 billion. This is set to become the largest single block‑trade placing for a Hong Kong‑listed tech company in 2026, and the biggest post‑IPO equity financing among domestic foundation‑model firms.
Under the terms, Zhipu’s placing price is HK$1,588 per share, with up to 19.78 million new H‑shares to be subscribed. Assuming full take‑up, gross proceeds are expected to total around HK$31.411 billion. The net funds will be deployed primarily into foundational model R&D, computing infrastructure build‑out, commercialisation expansion, and global ecosystem development. The company expects to fully utilise the net proceeds by the end of 2027.
Other Notable Industry Financings
SenseTime completed a HK$3.247 billion new‑share placing in April, netting HK$3.23 billion. The proceeds are earmarked for domestic‑chip supercomputing clusters, AI cloud‑stack upgrades, R&D for the SenseNova generative AI series, commercialisation of the AI‑token programme, vertical‑market AI integrations (education, SaaS, hardware‑software hybrids), and working capital.
iFlytek closed a RMB 4 billion private placement in April, channeling funds into the “Spark” (Xinghuo) LLM development, computing‑platform construction, and business expansion.
On the primary market, DeepSeek has reportedly completed its first funding round at RMB 51 billion, with founder Liang Wenfeng personally contributing ~RMB 20 billion (the largest single cheque), Tencent investing ~RMB 10 billion, the CATL‑affiliated entity putting in ~RMB 5 billion, and NetEase, JD.com, and IDG Capital each chipping in ~RMB 3 billion. The National AI Industry Investment Fund also participated with RMB 1 billion.
Moonshot AI (Kimi) was rumoured in June to be seeking its third funding round in six months, targeting US$2 billion (approx. RMB 13.5 billion).
StepFun is said to be nearing closure of a ~US$2.5 billion round, with backers including Huaqin, Longcheer, OmniVision, ZTE, Tencent, and Kingdee, and is considering a Hong Kong IPO.
Overall, this round of financing is characterised by "large scale, diverse participation, and broad geographic coverage." The funds are primarily channeled into foundational model R&D, computing infrastructure build‑out, and global business expansion. This reflects capital markets' strong confidence in the long‑term value of domestic foundation models, and also signals that the industry is rapidly transitioning from the technology validation phase to a new stage of large‑scale investment and intensified commercial competition.
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