Leading domestic large model unicorn Zhipu AI has recently officially launched its IPO plan on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market), aiming to raise 15 billion yuan. This comes less than five months after its listing on the Hong Kong stock market. On June 1st, Zhipu announced that its board of directors had approved relevant resolutions regarding the issuance of A-shares and the application for listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market.

This January 8th, Zhipu successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as the "first large model stock." This new move in the capital market aims to further expand its sources of funding by utilizing both A-share and H-share financing channels.

Zhipu AI

This move reflects that the competition in domestic foundational models has entered a new stage. The current large model industry is still in a high-investment period, and the market competition is rapidly evolving from merely comparing model capabilities and first-tier market fundraising to a comprehensive competition involving capital strength, commercialization, and long-term continuous investment capability. Professor Hu Yanping, a specially appointed professor at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, said in an interview today that the current A-share market can offer higher valuation premiums and financing quotas to technology companies, and some previous listing obstacles have gradually been eliminated, which is the core driving force attracting H-share tech companies to return to the A-share market.

Zhipu's effort to enter the STAR Market will not only deepen its capital moat but also indicate that leading AI companies are accelerating to seize strategic high ground in the long-term competition through multi-level capital markets.