Select Language:
Chinese startup MiniMax aims to become the fastest artificial intelligence company to go public, achieving this milestone in just over four years since its inception. The company disclosed its prospectus yesterday, following approval at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on December 17. Founded in December 2021 in Shaignah, MiniMax plans to begin trading shares next month, after the holiday season.
The company reported a net loss of $465 million, compared to $1.5 million the previous year, while revenue skyrocketed by 782%, reaching $30.5 million, according to its filing. Over the past four years, it has accumulated losses totaling $1.3 billion.
MiniMax attributes its losses mainly to substantial investments in research and development of large language models, AI infrastructure, and fair value losses on financial liabilities. It expects its annual losses to grow significantly this year, primarily due to rising R&D expenses.
High growth alongside heavy investment and losses characterizes many AI firms. Both MiniMax and another Chinese AI company recently approved for Hong Kong IPO are experiencing doubled revenues, accelerating commercialization, and increasing usage volume and willingness to pay. However, intense competition and rapid technological advances have led to continuous cash burn.
Over the past year, MiniMax’s average monthly cash expenditure was approximately $280 million. As of September 30, the company had nearly $1.1 billion in cash and equivalents, including $360 million in cash on hand.
MiniMax’s revenue streams mainly include subscription services, token-based in-app purchases, online marketing solutions, and enterprise API services billed according to usage. Early investors include Yunqi Capital, IDG, GL Ventures, Future Capital, and miHoYo. Larger funding rounds saw participation from Tencent Investment and Alibaba Group, with the latest fundraising raising about $390 million in August and valuing the company at over $4.2 billion.
Major shareholders listed in the prospectus are Alibaba with a 13.7% stake, miHoYo holding 6.4%, and Tencent owning 2.6%.
The global large language model market is expanding quickly and is projected to surpass $300 billion by 2030, according to industry analysis. Artificial intelligence is expected to add $19.9 trillion to the worldwide economy by that year, contributing to a 3.5% increase in global GDP.
ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini AI
Grok AI
