Zhipu AI defies sector slump, bets on AGI over near-term profits
Synopsis
Zhipu AI defied a broad Chinese AI stock rout on 13 July 2026, closing flat at HK$1,645 while rival MiniMax plunged 17%, after co-founder Tang Jie declared the company will spend two years on frontier AGI research and forgo short-term monetisation — even as its market cap has already halved from a HK$1 trillion peak.
Key Takeaways
Zhipu AI closed nearly flat at HK$1,645 on 13 July 2026 , resisting a broad sell-off in Chinese AI stocks .
Rival MiniMax fell 17 per cent to HK$222.8 , its lowest price since its January 2026 debut.
Zhipu AI co-founder Tang Jie of Tsinghua University declared in a weekend letter the company will not pursue short-term monetisation, committing to two years of frontier AI research.
Zhipu AI 's stock has risen more than 12-fold since its January 2026 listing, but its market cap has fallen from a peak of over HK$1 trillion (US$128 billion) to around HK$730 billion .
MiniMax founder Yan Junjie pledged last week to forgo his salary until the company achieves AGI .
Both companies are pivoting their public narratives toward long-horizon AGI goals over near-term commercial returns.
Zhipu AI, the Chinese artificial intelligence company behind the GLM-5.2 model, held its ground on Monday, 13 July 2026, closing nearly flat at HK$1,645 even as a broad sell-off swept AI-related stocks across Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland. The resilience came days after the company publicly committed to pursuing artificial general intelligence (AGI) rather than chasing short-term revenue.
A sector in retreat — except for Zhipu
While Zhipu AI — listed in Hong Kong under the name Knowledge Atlas Technology — gained more than 1 per cent by midday before closing flat, rival MiniMax shed 17 per cent to close at HK$222.8, its lowest level since its January debut. The divergence underscored how investor sentiment is beginning to split between companies perceived as long-term frontier bets and those under pressure to monetise quickly.The AGI pledge that moved markets
Over the weekend, Tang Jie, a co-founder of Zhipu AI and a prominent computer scientist at Tsinghua University, issued an internal letter stating the company would spend the next two years investing in frontier AI research. The company 'would not pursue short-term monetisation from AI applications', Tang wrote, setting its sights instead on AGI — defined in the letter as 'the aggregation of all human intelligence'. The letter was issued on Saturday and seen by reporters.A stock that has soared — then corrected
Zhipu AI's shares have risen more than 12-fold since their January debut, fuelled in part by investor enthusiasm over the release of the GLM-5.2 model. The company's market capitalisation briefly surpassed HK$1 trillion (US$128 billion) near the end of last month, before retreating to approximately HK$730 billion by Monday's close.MiniMax faces parallel pressure
MiniMax is navigating a similar philosophical crossroads. Last week, company founder Yan Junjie expressed determination to achieve AGI and pledged to forgo his salary until that milestone is reached — a gesture that mirrors the broader trend of Chinese AI leaders publicly aligning themselves with long-horizon research goals over near-term commercial returns.What to watch next
With both Zhipu AI and MiniMax doubling down on AGI timelines, the key question for investors is whether frontier research commitments can sustain elevated valuations during a prolonged commercialisation pause. The next major signal will likely be Zhipu's model roadmap updates and any shifts in enterprise contract volumes over the coming quarters.Point of View
Yet their founders are now publicly walking that back. The broader pattern mirrors the early-stage dynamic seen in US frontier labs — where 'AGI or bust' rhetoric serves as a buffer against quarterly earnings scrutiny. The real stress test will come when institutional investors, who bid Zhipu's market cap to HK$1 trillion, start demanding concrete revenue milestones that a two-year research moratorium explicitly rules out.
NationPress
13 Jul 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Zhipu AI stock hold up while other Chinese AI stocks fell?
Zhipu AI closed nearly flat at HK$1,645 on 13 July 2026 because investor sentiment was buoyed by the company's weekend pledge to prioritise AGI research over short-term monetisation, which was seen as a long-term value signal even as the broader sector sold off.
What is the GLM-5.2 model and why does it matter?
GLM-5.2 is the latest large language model released by Zhipu AI. Its launch earlier this year triggered a surge in investor enthusiasm that briefly pushed the company's market capitalisation above HK$1 trillion (US$128 billion).
What did Tang Jie say in his internal letter?
Tang Jie, co-founder of Zhipu AI and a computer scientist at Tsinghua University, wrote in a Saturday letter that the company 'would not pursue short-term monetisation from AI applications' and would instead invest in frontier AI research over the next two years, targeting AGI — defined as 'the aggregation of all human intelligence'.
How much has Zhipu AI's market cap fallen from its peak?
Zhipu AI's market capitalisation fell from a brief peak of over HK$1 trillion (US$128 billion) in late June 2026 to approximately HK$730 billion by 13 July 2026, a decline of roughly 27 per cent from its high.
What is happening with MiniMax shares?
MiniMax shares dropped 17 per cent to HK$222.8 on 13 July 2026, hitting their lowest level since the company's January debut. Founder Yan Junjie had separately pledged last week to forgo his salary until MiniMax achieves AGI.
