Zhipu AI becomes the first major AI company to IPO, listing in Hong Kong at a $4B+ valuation
The Chinese AI lab behind the open-source GLM model family went public on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, raising roughly $558 million with shares surging 13-15% on debut — beating Anthropic, OpenAI, and every other Western AI lab to the public markets.
Zhipu AI, the Beijing-based company behind the open-source GLM family of large language models, officially began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under ticker HKEX:02513 on Thursday, making it the first major AI foundation model company anywhere in the world to go public. As the company announced, "We're officially public... This moment belongs to our community as much as it belongs to us."
The IPO raised approximately $558 million, and the stock immediately rewarded early investors. As @KuittinenPetri noted, shares climbed 13% or more on the first day of trading, a strong debut in a market that has been cautious about AI valuations outside of the obvious mega-caps. The listing values Zhipu at well north of $4 billion — a figure that would have been eye-popping for a Chinese AI startup two years ago but now looks almost modest compared to the private valuations commanded by Anthropic and OpenAI.
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