A Beijing-based artificial intelligence company went public six months ago at HK$116.20 per share. Those shares recently traded as high as HK$2,980. That’s roughly a 2,000% gain, the kind of return that makes early investors feel like they found a winning lottery ticket wedged between couch cushions.
Zhipu, formally known as Knowledge Atlas Technology, is now considering a multibillion-dollar share sale in Hong Kong to capitalize on the rally that has pushed its market capitalization past HK$1 trillion at its peak. That translates to an implied valuation of around $83B, which is remarkable for a company that raised approximately $560 million in its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange just months ago on January 8, 2026.
From IPO to AI juggernaut in record time
Zhipu holds the distinction of being the first major Chinese developer of large language models to go public. The company sits among a group of firms sometimes called China’s “AI tigers,” a cohort of domestic players trying to compete globally with established names like OpenAI.
The IPO itself was sizable but not jaw-dropping, raising roughly HK$4.35B. What happened next was the jaw-dropping part. Year-to-date gains of nearly 2,000% by mid-June 2026 turned a respectable debut into one of the most talked-about stock stories in Asian markets this year.
