OpenAI Challengers Test Appetite for China AI With Twin IPOs (1)

Two of China’s largest generative AI startups are set for back-to-back debuts in Hong Kong this week, testing investor appetite for an industry that blossomed in the post-ChatGPT era. Yet Zhipu and MiniMax — among the country’s earliest challengers to sector leaders including OpenAI — took very different routes to public markets.

Zhipu and Minimax begin trading Thursday and Friday, respectively, in a litmus test of whether investors believe China’s fledgling AI industry can compete on a global stage. Both epitomize the country’s no-frills approach to AI, operating with far less capital, fewer chips and leaner headcounts than the likes ...