The $20bn Kimi developer has informed shareholders it will dismantle its variable-interest-entity structure, after Beijing made it clear an exemption was unlikely. The IPO would be one of the biggest Chinese AI listings on record.
Moonshot AI, the Beijing-based developer of the Kimi chatbot, has told shareholders it intends to dismantle its variable-interest-entity (VIE) structure to clear the path for a Hong Kong listing, South China Morning Post reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The company is valued at $20bn after its most recent funding round, and the IPO would be among the largest Chinese AI listings since the category opened up to public-market capital.
The structural decision is the substantive news. Moonshot’s offshore vehicle is registered in the Cayman Islands, with its operating assets in mainland China held through a VIE arrangement.
The 💜 of EU techThe latest rumblings from the EU tech scene, a story from our wise ol' founder Boris, and some questionable AI art. It's free, every week, in your inbox. Sign up now!Under the China Securities Regulatory Commission’s revised IPO rules, listing candidates with offshore VIE structures must now justify their continued existence in a procedural review, with the regulator’s preference being for mainland-anchored entities. Moonshot initially sought a waiver.
