Alibaba-backed Chinese AI startup Zhipu targets IPO this year

In an attempt to become the first of several well-known ChatGPT rivals to enter the public market, Zhipu has enlisted China International Capital Corp. to lead an IPO as early as this year. According to IPO filings made with the nation's stock markets watchdog, the six-year-old company and CICC have started getting ready for the launch and may formally apply to list by October.

Supported by Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Zhipu is one of the few Chinese firms attempting to compete with OpenAI on a worldwide scale. With the goal of securing a place in the emerging market and establishing benchmarks for future developments, Zhipu and competitors ranging from Moonshot to Minimax have rapidly launched low-cost AI services since the rise of DeepSeek.

In March, Zhipu concluded a $137 million fundraising round headed by companies supported by the local government, demonstrating Beijing's increasing interest in AI in the wake of DeepSeek's rise. Following Zhipu's January addition to another trade restrictions blacklist by the US Commerce Department, which threatened to obstruct access to vital technologies, that investment was made.