Is DeepSeek going public?

It is preparing to. Reuters reported on September 9, 2026 that DeepSeek has hired CITIC Securities to prepare a listing on Shanghai's STAR Market, aiming to begin the IPO process in 2026. Timing, size and IPO valuation are not set. Separately, DeepSeek is raising a private round at about 500 billion yuan (~$75 billion), up from a June 2026 round of roughly $7.4 billion at a post-money valuation above $50 billion. DeepSeek has not formally confirmed the plan.

What is Moonshot AI's IPO valuation?

Moonshot AI, maker of the Kimi models, confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO in early September 2026 (Reuters, September 3) at a target valuation of at least $50 billion, seeking to raise between $3 billion and $5 billion — which would be Hong Kong's largest listing of 2026. On September 10 SCMP reported Moonshot is also exploring a dual Hong Kong–Shanghai listing. Moonshot raised $3.5 billion in July 2026 after a $500 million Series C in January, when it was valued at about $4.3 billion; it recently passed $300 million in annual recurring revenue.

How have Z.ai and MiniMax performed since listing?

Z.ai (formerly Zhipu) and MiniMax listed in Hong Kong earlier in 2026, the first Chinese frontier-model labs to go public. As of early September 2026 Z.ai trades at a market cap just over $63 billion with its shares up more than 7x year-to-date, but the stock has lost more than half its value since the second half of June. MiniMax is up about 5% in 2026 at roughly a $16 billion valuation, nearly three-quarters below its March 2026 high. First-half 2026 revenue was about $136 million for Z.ai and $117 million for MiniMax.

Why are Chinese AI labs rushing to IPO in 2026?

Compute. Frontier training and inference capacity, talent retention and global expansion all require capital that repeated private rounds struggle to supply, and Z.ai and MiniMax listed partly because their cash was dwindling. Public equity also funds acquisitions and employee incentives. The wave coincides with Anthropic and OpenAI moving toward US listings, so Chinese labs are racing to lock in valuations before investors can compare them directly with American peers — and while Hong Kong and Shanghai investors are receptive to strategic-technology stocks.

Quick Answer

DeepSeek vs Moonshot vs Z.ai vs MiniMax: China's AI IPO Race

Published: September 13, 2026

The short answer

	DeepSeek	Moonshot AI (Kimi)	Z.ai (Zhipu)	MiniMax
Status (Sep 13, 2026)	Pre-IPO: CITIC Securities hired for Shanghai STAR Market	Confidential Hong Kong filing; exploring HK + Shanghai dual listing	Listed in Hong Kong, 2026	Listed in Hong Kong, 2026
Valuation	~~500B yuan (~~$75B) in current private round; >$50B post-money in June	≥$50B target; $4.3B at start of 2026	~$63B market cap (early Sep)	~$16B market cap (early Sep)
Raise	Not set	$3–5B	—	—
Recent private capital	~$7.4B round (June 2026)	$500M Series C (Jan), $3.5B (July)	Listed out of need	Listed out of need
Revenue signal	Not disclosed	>$300M ARR	~$136M H1 2026 revenue	~$117M H1 2026 revenue
Stock since listing	—	—	>7x YTD, but down >50% since late June	~+5% YTD, ~75% below March high
Flagship models	V4 Pro, V4.1 Flash (Sep 10)	Kimi K3 (open weights Jul 27)	GLM 5.3	MiniMax M3, Speech 2.8

DeepSeek is the biggest and least transparent; Moonshot is the best-capitalised newcomer; Z.ai and MiniMax are the cautionary tales about what happens after the bell rings.

DeepSeek: Shanghai, CITIC and a $75 billion private mark

Reuters reported on September 9, 2026 that Hangzhou-based DeepSeek has tapped CITIC Securities to prepare a potential listing on Shanghai’s technology-focused STAR Market, with the IPO process expected to begin in 2026. Nothing else is fixed: not the timing, the raise, or the IPO valuation. What exists is a private financing that could value the company at about 500 billion yuan (~$74–75 billion) — a step-up of at least ~48% from the >$50 billion post-money of its ~$7.4 billion June 2026 round.

The choice of Shanghai over Hong Kong or New York keeps DeepSeek inside mainland capital-market and regulatory structures, which fits a company increasingly tied to national technology policy. It also imposes mainland pre-listing tutoring, disclosure and regulatory review — the first time DeepSeek’s finances will be visible. The commercial pitch is cheap inference at scale: the V4.1 Flash launch on September 10 ($0.15/$0.60 per MTok off-peak, $0.003 cache hits) landed the day after the IPO news.

The risk overhang is reputational. Anthropic’s September 10 threat report alleges DeepSeek relayed some customer requests to Claude without disclosure and harvested reasoning traces for training. DeepSeek had not responded in detail at publication; a STAR prospectus will have to address data-handling practices.

Moonshot: Hong Kong’s largest 2026 listing, if it prices

Beijing-based Moonshot AI, maker of Kimi, confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO in early September 2026 (Reuters, September 3; WSJ), targeting a valuation of at least $50 billion and a raise of $3–5 billion. On September 10 SCMP reported it is exploring a dual Hong Kong–Shanghai listing, with an offering possibly by October.

Moonshot’s distinguishing feature is that it did not need to list. It raised a $500 million Series C in January 2026, then $3.5 billion in July, taking total 2026 funding past $8 billion from a ~$4.3 billion valuation at the turn of the year. Its models — Kimi K3 open-weighted on July 27 at $3/$15 per MTok — have brand recognition outside China that Z.ai and MiniMax lacked at listing. The open question is revenue: Moonshot recently crossed $300 million ARR, not radically above Z.ai’s and MiniMax’s half-year figures, yet it is asking for roughly the same valuation as Z.ai commands after a 7x run.

Moonshot also appears in Anthropic’s report, accused of silently forwarding ~300,000 Kimi requests to Claude over ten days. Expect underwriters to be asked about it.

Z.ai and MiniMax: what listing actually looked like

Z.ai (formerly Zhipu) and MiniMax became China’s first public frontier-model labs when they listed in Hong Kong earlier in 2026 — partly, per Asia Tech Review, because their cash was dwindling. Their first earnings reports set the reference points:

Z.ai: ~$136 million H1 2026 revenue; market cap just over $63 billion; shares up more than 7x year-to-date but down more than half since late June. It has pivoted toward cloud-based services aimed at a global audience, and its GLM models earned respect abroad.
MiniMax: ~$117 million H1 2026 revenue; market cap about $16 billion; up ~5% in 2026 and roughly three-quarters below its March 2026 high.

The lesson for DeepSeek and Moonshot is that Hong Kong retail enthusiasm inflates and then reprices. Both incumbents now trade on revenue trajectory, not narrative.

Why the race is happening now

Compute costs are permanent. Training, inference capacity and GPU access need capital on a scale private rounds cannot repeatedly supply; public equity also funds acquisitions and retention packages.
The US comparison is coming. Anthropic and OpenAI are both moving toward listings; Chinese labs want valuations set before investors can benchmark them against American peers with larger revenues.
Windows close. STAR and Hong Kong investors are receptive to strategic-technology issuers today; the Z.ai drawdown shows how fast sentiment turns.
Regulatory alignment. Shanghai and Hong Kong listings keep data, disclosure and ownership inside frameworks Beijing controls.

What to watch

DeepSeek’s first filing — the first look at its revenue, margins and compute spend, and its answer on the Claude-relay allegations.
Moonshot’s pricing and venue — whether the dual listing happens and whether $50 billion holds against $300 million ARR.
Z.ai’s next quarter — the stock’s post-June slide is the market’s live verdict on Chinese AI unit economics.
US-listing calendar — an Anthropic or OpenAI S-1 would reset comparables for every Chinese lab.