Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) startups, including Moonshot AI and DeepSeek, are ramping up funding efforts ahead of their planned initial public offerings (IPOs) next year. The need for substantial investment in AI model development and computing infrastructure, coupled with intensifying technological competition with the United States, has driven this urgency.
According to Bloomberg on October 6, Moonshot AI (Yue Zhi An Mian) recently completed its final round of private investment and is preparing for a Hong Kong stock market listing in the first quarter of 2024.
Reports indicate that Moonshot AI plans to meet with early investors this month to gauge market demand for its IPO. The company is considering raising up to $5 billion (approximately 6.72 trillion won) through the offering.
Moonshot AI has selected China International Capital Corporation (CICC), Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America as underwriters for its IPO and has reportedly applied for a private review for the offering.
The upcoming Hong Kong listing of Moonshot AI is seen as one of the most anticipated IPOs amid a wave of large-scale fundraising for AI and technology companies in both mainland China and Hong Kong.
Founded in March 2023 by computer scientist Yang Jilin and others from Tsinghua University, Moonshot AI has received equity investments and cloud infrastructure support from major Chinese tech firms such as Alibaba, Tencent, and Meituan.
In July, the company gained global attention by unveiling its open-source model, 'Kimi K3,' which has been evaluated to perform comparably to models from leading AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic.
In this latest funding round, Moonshot AI's valuation has surged to approximately $50 billion (about 67.2 trillion won), a significant increase from the $31.5 billion valuation during its summer fundraising.
Another prominent Chinese AI startup, DeepSeek, is also accelerating its funding efforts ahead of its IPO on the Shanghai stock exchange early next year.
Bloomberg reported that sources expect DeepSeek to secure at least 80 billion yuan (approximately 16 trillion won) in its latest funding round, significantly exceeding its initial target of 50 billion yuan. Based on signed investment agreements, the final amount raised could approach 100 billion yuan, driven by strong demand following the successful launch of its latest AI model, 'V4 Flash.'
Notably, China's largest battery manufacturer, CATL, and tech giant Tencent are among the major investors committing substantial funds in this round.
This funding is expected to lay the groundwork for DeepSeek's IPO next year. The company previously raised 50 billion yuan in its first external funding round since its establishment, with a valuation of approximately 350 billion yuan at that time.
However, uncertainties surround the IPOs of both Moonshot AI and DeepSeek. Bloomberg noted that recent tightening of regulations by Chinese authorities on the AI industry could impact their valuations and listings. Chinese regulators have recently initiated data security investigations into both DeepSeek and Moonshot AI, raising concerns about governance and safety issues within the country's AI sector.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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