Moonshot AI plans to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange within six months, the company confirmed this week through a shareholder resolution circulated to secure investor approval for the IPO. The move comes just days after Moonshot released its Kimi K3 model on July 16 — an open-weight system with 2.8 trillion parameters that matched several leading US models on coding benchmarks — and sparked what analysts are calling a fresh 'DeepSeek moment' in global equity markets.
Kimi K3 rattles global equities
The model's launch hit risk assets hard. Taiwan's benchmark index fell more than 6%, Japanese equities dropped 4%, and the Nasdaq slid 1.5%. Hong Kong-listed rival Z.ai lost up to 30% of its value in a single session. MiniMax Group shares dropped 16%, and Alibaba fell 4%. The selloff echoed a June rout that pulled Bitcoin toward $62,000, showing how AI headlines now move traditional markets as much as crypto.
JPMorgan urged clients to buy the dip in AI chip stocks. Morgan Stanley, meanwhile, said it favors hyperscalers over chipmakers in the current environment.
Valuation jumps sevenfold
Moonshot is finalizing a funding round that could value the firm at over $30 billion — a nearly sevenfold jump from its $4.3 billion valuation in December. The company's annual recurring revenue doubled to about $200 million by April, up from roughly $100 million in early March. That growth trajectory is a key selling point for Hong Kong investors, though the IPO still requires regulatory and shareholder sign-off.
Restructuring for Hong Kong listing
To qualify for a Hong Kong listing, Moonshot is dismantling its offshore VIE structure and replacing it with a joint venture model, following guidance from China's securities regulator. The restructuring is a familiar hurdle for Chinese tech firms seeking to list in the city, but Moonshot's speed suggests confidence in clearing the process within the six-month window.
Rival DeepSeek weighs its own IPO
Moonshot isn't the only Chinese AI lab eyeing public markets. Rival DeepSeek is weighing an IPO after closing its first external funding round. The two companies have been locked in a race for talent and model performance, and a dual listing in Hong Kong would put them head-to-head in the public eye.
The shareholder vote on Moonshot's IPO resolution is expected within weeks. If approved, the company will file its prospectus and begin the formal listing process — likely before the end of the year.
