How China's Two Biggest AI IPOs, Zhipu and MiniMax, Took Radically Different Paths in 2026

MiniMax (stock code 00100.HK) debuted the very next day, January 9, at HK$165 per share—the top of its marketed range . It raised approximately HK$5.54 billion , with retail investors oversubscribing the offering by 1,848 times . The stock opened 42.7% higher at HK$235.40 and closed at HK$345, a first-day gain of 109.1% that pushed its market cap above HK$103 billion (around US$13.2 billion) .

On debut day, MiniMax was the unequivocal champion. Its larger first-day pop and higher absolute valuation appeared to signal that investors saw it as the more valuable AI play. But the initial pop would turn out to be a mixed blessing.

The Rally: Zhipu's Quiet Start Gives Way to an Explosive Run

After the opening bell, both stocks continued to rise through the early months of 2026, riding a broader AI rally. But the magnitude of their gains was anything but equal.

By mid-February, on the first trading day of the Lunar Year of the Horse, the two stocks surged in tandem. Zhipu closed at HK$725, up 42.7% in a single session, while MiniMax rose over 14% to HK$970, pushing their combined market capitalization past the HK$300 billion mark . At this point, MiniMax's share price was still comfortably higher, but Zhipu's momentum was building faster.

By mid-March, Zhipu's shares had already rallied more than 250% above the IPO price . On April 18, the stock traded near HK$936, representing a gain of roughly 705% since listing . For comparison, every dollar invested in Zhipu's IPO would have been worth approximately eight dollars in just over three months.

MiniMax, meanwhile, hit its own peak on March 18 at HK$1,330 per share, briefly making it the highest-priced stock on the Hong Kong exchange . But that peak would not last.

The Tipping Point: MiniMax's STAR Market Announcement

The first major divergence came at the end of May. On May 29, Zhipu hit a new all-time high of HK$1,993—gaining over 20% in a single session—and pushed its market capitalization north of HK$880 billion (about US$113 billion) . The same day, MiniMax shares were trading around HK$768, a solid return but far short of Zhipu's momentum .

Then, on May 31, MiniMax dropped a bombshell. The company announced it was exploring a dual listing on Shanghai's STAR Market (an A-share IPO), and had already signed a tutoring agreement with CITIC Securities and submitted a listing guidance filing to the Shanghai Securities Regulatory Bureau . The revelation spooked Hong Kong investors, who worried about share dilution, valuation arbitrage between exchanges, and the possibility that the company's growth story might be better priced on the mainland.

On June 1, MiniMax shares fell more than 13% to approximately HK$726.50 . The slide wiped out weeks of gains, even as both stocks were about to be added to the Hang Seng Tech Index effective June 5, a move that typically drives passive fund inflows and supports share prices . Zhipu shrugged off any broader market wobbles, while MiniMax's dual-listing cloud sent a chill through its shareholder base.

Market Cap Snapshot: June 2026

By early June, the two AI developers were trading in completely different valuation leagues.

Important caveat on MiniMax's market cap: The available sources do not provide an exact market capitalization for MiniMax as of June 2026. The HK$180–190 billion estimate is derived from the June 1 share price of approximately HK$726.50 and is consistent with the stock being roughly 4.4 times its IPO price. For comparison, MiniMax's market cap exceeded HK$103 billion on its first day of trading ; the stock had peaked near HK$1,330 in mid-March before pulling back .

Zhipu's market capitalization is more than eight times larger than MiniMax's, reversing the debut-day dynamic where MiniMax commanded the higher valuation.

Why Did Zhipu Pull Ahead So Dramatically?

Explaining short-term stock movements is always speculative, but the available data and reporting point to three main forces that widened the gap between the two stocks.

The valuation starting point mattered. Zhipu's modest 13% first-day pop gave it more headroom to rerate upward as the AI narrative intensified across global markets. MiniMax, by contrast, had already priced in an enormous premium on day one—a 109% gain means a huge portion of the initial enthusiasm was spent immediately . With less room for multiple expansion, MiniMax's post-IPO gains, while impressive in absolute terms, were smaller relative to Zhipu's.

The A-share dual-listing surprise froze MiniMax's momentum. MiniMax's late-May announcement that it would pursue a STAR Market listing was interpreted by some investors as a sign that the company believed mainland Chinese exchanges would offer a higher valuation. But for existing Hong Kong shareholders, the news raised immediate concerns about potential dilution, regulatory friction, and the risk that institutional money might rotate into Shanghai-listed shares at Hong Kong's expense. The single-day drop of more than 13% on June 1 made clear that the market was not yet ready to price in the benefits of dual access .

Index inclusion favored both, but Zhipu was already riding higher. The Hang Seng Index Company announced on May 22 that both Zhipu and MiniMax would be added to the Hang Seng Tech Index, with changes taking effect on June 5 . Passive fund rebalancing typically lifts the stocks being added, and Zhipu—already in a strong uptrend—appeared to get a bigger boost from front-running and index buying than MiniMax did while it was dealing with the STAR Market overhang.

Both companies remain among the most valuable AI startups ever to go public, and MiniMax's STAR Market ambitions could eventually unlock additional funding and a new domestic investor base. But for the first half of 2026, the story of Hong Kong's twin AI listings became a case study in how debut-day fireworks do not always predict the longer race.