Alibaba-Backed AI Startup Zhipu Targets IPO as Soon as 2025

Zhipu has enlisted China International Capital Corp. to spearhead an initial public offering as soon as this year, angling to become the first of several prominent ChatGPT-competitors to tap public markets.

The six-year-old firm and CICC have begun to prepare for the debut and could formally apply to list by October, according to IPO documents filed with the country’s stock markets watchdog.

Backed by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., Zhipu is one of just a handful of Chinese startups trying to take on OpenAI globally. Since the emergence of DeepSeek, Zhipu and rivals from Moonshot ...