Adia-backed ‘AI Tiger’ MiniMax doubles share price on IPO debut

The share price of a Chinese artificial intelligence company backed by Abu Dhabi investors has doubled on its first day of trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange.

MiniMax’s share price closed at HK$345 ($44), up 109 percent from the offer price of HK$165 ($21). That gives MiniMax a market cap of roughly $14 billion.

Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Adia) invested $65 million in December 2025 to acquire 3.35 million shares, the startup said in a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange.

Founded in 2021 and backed by Chinese technology companies Alibaba Group and Tencent Holdings, MiniMax specialises in developing AI applications, including chatbots, image generation and video synthesis.

Another Chinese technology company’s listing in Hong Kong also recorded gains in its first day of trading. Zhipu AI, a competitor to MiniMax, rose 12 percent a day before MiniMax’s listing.

MiniMax, Zhipu AI and four other startups are collectively known as China’s “AI tigers”, and are seen as rivals to American AI giants. 

According to Global SWF, China attracted $10 billion from state-owned investors in 2024, with 62 percent originating from Gulf funds including deals by Qatar Investment Authority, Adia and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Global SWF estimates that Adia’s assets to be worth more than $1.1 trillion, and the fund said in September 2025 that its continued focus will be on investing in technology.

Further reading:

• Adia backs IPO of Chinese AI startup MiniMax
• Secondary share sales outperform IPOs across Gulf
• CloudKitchens shelves Middle East unit IPO