MiniMax raises Alibaba Cloud deal 220% to $1.2bn on AI compute surge
Synopsis
MiniMax burned through two-thirds of its 2026 Alibaba Cloud budget by June, then tripled its annual cap and raised its three-year ceiling 220% to US$1.2 billion — a stark signal of how fast China's AI inference workloads are outrunning even aggressive infrastructure plans.
Key Takeaways
MiniMax has raised its three-year Alibaba Cloud spending ceiling by 220 per cent to US$1.2 billion , according to Hong Kong Stock Exchange filings dated 28 August 2026 .
The company's 2026 annual cap was nearly tripled from US$115 million to US$300 million after two-thirds of the original budget was spent by end of June 2026 .
Annual limits for 2027 and 2028 were revised to US$400 million and US$500 million respectively, up from US$125 million and US$135 million .
A separate API service budget with Alibaba was raised over tenfold for 2026 — from US$650,000 to US$7.5 million — with the three-year API ceiling reaching US$62.5 million .
MiniMax reported first-half 2026 revenue of US$116.6 million , a 283 per cent year-on-year surge, with enterprise sales up 700 per cent .
MiniMax, the Shanghai-based artificial intelligence firm behind the M-series large language models and the Hailuo AI consumer app, has expanded its cloud computing agreement with Alibaba Group Holding by 220 per cent to a three-year ceiling of US$1.2 billion, according to filings submitted to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday, 28 August 2026. The revision signals the accelerating compute appetite of China's leading AI developers as both model training and live inference workloads intensify.
Why it matters
MiniMax had already consumed two-thirds of its original 2026 Alibaba Cloud budget by the end of June, prompting an immediate revision that nearly triples the annual cap — from US$115 million to US$300 million for the current year. The pace of spend underscores how quickly even well-funded AI developers are outrunning their own infrastructure forecasts.
The deal in detail
Under the updated agreement, which runs through 2028, MiniMax's annual spending limits on Alibaba Cloud services will rise from US$125 million to US$400 million in 2027, and from US$135 million to US$500 million in 2028. In a separate revision, the company raised its API service budget with Alibaba for 2026 from US$650,000 to US$7.5 million — an over tenfold increase — bringing the three-year API spending ceiling to US$62.5 million, a nearly 20-fold jump from previous limits.
Revenue surge as context
MiniMax reported a 283 per cent surge in first-half revenue to US$116.6 million this week, driven by a 700 per cent leap in enterprise sales. The company is known for its M-series large language models, the H3 video-generation model, and the widely used Hailuo AI consumer application. The explosive revenue growth helps explain why compute budgets are being revised upward at such speed: enterprise demand is outpacing planning cycles.
Competitive backdrop
The revised pact reinforces Alibaba Cloud's position as a preferred infrastructure partner for China's domestic AI ecosystem at a time when access to advanced chips remains constrained by export controls. For Alibaba Group Holding, long-term committed spend from high-growth AI clients provides predictable cloud revenue that analysts have flagged as a key re-rating catalyst. The arrangement also highlights how Chinese AI firms are increasingly locking in multi-year cloud commitments rather than procuring capacity on a spot basis.
What's next
With annual limits now set at US$400 million for 2027 and US$500 million for 2028, investors will watch whether MiniMax burns through revised ceilings as rapidly as it did the original ones. Any further upward revision — or a move to diversify cloud providers — would be a telling indicator of how fast inference demand is scaling relative to the company's monetisation trajectory.
Point of View
Revenue-generating inference workloads, which are stickier and harder to migrate. In the context of ongoing chip-export restrictions, multi-year committed spend with a domestic cloud provider also functions as a hedge — locking in capacity that cannot easily be replaced with offshore alternatives.
NationPress
28 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the new value of MiniMax's cloud deal with Alibaba?
MiniMax has raised its three-year cloud computing agreement with Alibaba Group Holding to a ceiling of US$1.2 billion , a 220 per cent increase over the previous limit, according to Hong Kong Stock Exchange filings dated 28 August 2026 .
Why did MiniMax need to revise its Alibaba Cloud budget so quickly?
MiniMax had consumed two-thirds of its original 2026 budget of US$115 million by the end of June , driven by surging compute requirements for both model training and live AI inference. The company subsequently raised its 2026 annual cap to US$300 million .
How fast is MiniMax growing financially?
MiniMax reported first-half 2026 revenue of US$116.6 million , representing a 283 per cent year-on-year increase. Enterprise sales were the primary driver, surging 700 per cent over the same period.
What products does MiniMax make?
MiniMax is known for its M-series large language models, the H3 video-generation model, and the Hailuo AI consumer application. The company is headquartered in Shanghai and is listed in Hong Kong .
What does MiniMax's spending increase mean for Alibaba Cloud?
The multi-year committed spend from MiniMax provides Alibaba Cloud with predictable, high-value revenue from a fast-growing AI client, reinforcing its role as a preferred infrastructure partner for China's domestic AI ecosystem. Analysts view such long-term AI commitments as a key catalyst for Alibaba Cloud 's revenue re-rating.
