Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI is in early discussions about a potential Hong Kong initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. The Beijing-based firm behind the Kimi chatbot has held preliminary talks with China International Capital Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., though timing and listing plans remain uncertain. The deliberations come as Chinese authorities tighten scrutiny on offshore listings by red-chip firms, while still supporting domestic AI champions such

Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI is in early discussions about a potential Hong Kong initial public offering, according to people familiar with the matter. The Beijing-based firm behind the Kimi chatbot has held preliminary talks with China International Capital Corp. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., though timing and listing plans remain uncertain. The deliberations come as Chinese authorities tighten scrutiny on offshore listings by red-chip firms, while still supporting domestic AI champions such as DeepSeek and Unitree. Peer companies including Zhipu and MiniMax have seen strong valuations following Hong Kong listings earlier this year, highlighting robust demand for AI assets. Moonshot is also exploring private fundraising, with discussions to raise up to $1 billion that could value the company at around $18 billion. Founded by Yang Zhilin, the firm counts Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., Tencent Holdings Ltd. and 5Y Capital among its investors, and recently upgraded its multimodal Kimi AI model.