Zhipu AI Defies Market Slump With Spectacular Hong Kong Debut

While most stocks limped through the first trading day of the Lunar New Year, Zhipu AI's shares galloped ahead with a breathtaking 42.72% surge. The Beijing-based artificial intelligence company closed at 725 HKD, catapulting its market valuation to 323.2 billion HKD ($41.3 billion) - a figure that would make most tech startups envious.

Riding the AI Wave

The stellar performance wasn't isolated. Rival MINIMAX enjoyed its own moment in the sun, climbing 12% to 957 HKD with a valuation similarly breaching the 300 billion HKD mark. Together, these Chinese AI pioneers are rewriting the rules of investor enthusiasm in Hong Kong's often-turbulent market.

"What we're seeing is selective euphoria," noted tech analyst Li Wenjie from Shanghai. "Investors aren't throwing money at all tech stocks - they're carefully backing companies with proven AI capabilities and commercial traction."

Behind the Surge: GLM-5 Launch

Zhipu's rocket-fueled debut followed its February 12 unveiling of GLM-5, a next-generation model that nearly doubles its parameter count to 744 billion while delivering what the company claims are industry-leading programming improvements:

• 20%+ better performance on coding tasks versus previous generation
• Top scores in three key Agent evaluation benchmarks for open-source models
• Enhanced reasoning capabilities for complex problem-solving

The timing proved impeccable. Coming just before the Lunar New Year break, the announcement gave investors ample time to digest the technical leap before markets reopened.

Premium Pricing Pays Off

Perhaps more telling than the technical specs was Zhipu's bold pricing move - hiking rates for programming packages by over 30%. Contrary to conventional wisdom about price sensitivity, these premium offerings sold out almost immediately.

"This wasn't just a product launch - it was a statement," observed Hong Kong-based tech investor Rachel Zhou. "When you can command higher prices during an economic slowdown and still sell out, you've demonstrated real product-market fit."

The sellout marked a milestone as China's first completely purchased inventory of paid AI programming packages - suggesting domestic enterprises may finally be willing to pay serious money for homegrown AI solutions.

What's Next for China's AI Darlings?

With both Zhipu and MINIMAX now commanding valuations comparable to established tech giants, questions arise about sustainability. Can these companies convert technical prowess into lasting profitability? Industry watchers will be scrutinizing:

• Enterprise adoption rates for GLM-5 in coming quarters
• MINIMAX's response with its own next-gen model expected this spring
• Potential regulatory shifts as China balances AI innovation with oversight

For now at least, investors have placed their bets - and they're betting big on Chinese AI.

Key Points:

• Record debut: Zhipu shares surged 42.7% to 725 HKD in first post-holiday trading
• Valuation milestone: Market cap crosses $41 billion threshold
• Technical edge: New GLM-5 model doubles parameters while improving coding performance by over 20%
• Pricing power: Premium programming packages sold out despite 30%+ price hikes
• Sector momentum: Rival MINIMAX also gained 12%, surpassing $38B valuation