MiniMax raises $220 million HK in 48 hours - return to markets after the lockup crash

Ongoing story : MiniMax : le crash du lockup, puis le retour aux marchés· Part 2/2

BusinessSubscribers only Jul 11, 2026 at 17:196Add to bookmarks

MiniMax raises $220 million HK in 48 hours - return to markets after the lockup crash — Illustration : Léa Fontaine

After the post-IPO lockup crash, MiniMax bounces back with a lightning $2.2M HK fundraising round. The lab becomes the echo chamber of post-IPO tensions in the Chinese AI market.

In plain terms

MiniMax, the Chinese AI lab behind Hailuo and Talkie, completed a fundraising of approximately 2.2 billion HK$ (~280 M USD) on Hong Kong's secondary markets in a few days, a few weeks after the brutal crash of its stock at the end of the post-IPO lockup period. This is a double signal: a nervous market, but preserved confidence from institutional investors in the "Chinese AI champion" thesis.

The affair

Recap (see previous coverage #995): MiniMax listed on HKEX at the beginning of 2026. At the end of the lockup period, the stock fell sharply in a few sessions - massive exit of employees and pre-IPO VCs. Then a notable rebound in the following days, fueled by this lightning round of funding (accelerated private placement, mainly Hillhouse, HongShan - the fund from former-Sequoia China - GIC).

What matters is not the amount - it's the price. The placement was done at a moderate discount compared to the closing price, given the context. Translation: major institutions do not consider the thesis to be broken, they consider that the valuation window is open.

Operationally: MiniMax announces that the funds will finance (1) the extension of its training cluster (new Huawei Ascend 910C GPUs + Nvidia H20), (2) the international expansion of Talkie (already positioned high in US app stores in the AI companion segment), (3) the arrival of MiniMax-Text-02, announced for Q4 2026.

Under the hood

Fundraising structure: accelerated private placement (ABB), significant dilution, 3-year warrant coupon according to reported terms.
Cash position post-fundraising: strengthened to last several quarters at the current burn rate, without the company having communicated a precise figure.
Comparable: similar rebound at Zhipu at the beginning of 2026 after an analogous scare - the "post-crash fundraising" playbook is becoming a Chinese pattern.

So what

Three readings. One: the post-IPO Chinese AI market will be volatile, but institutional investors have a floor - no contagion to Moonshot or 01.AI. Two: the cash race between Chinese labs is now playing out on secondary markets, not on classic VC. Three: Talkie becomes the real asset to watch - it's the first Chinese AI product for the general public that is breaking through on US app stores. Watch out for the release of MiniMax-Text-02 and the next quarter of Talkie retention.