智谱Z.AI(02513.HK)折价约10%配售20亿美元新股+30亿美元零息可转债，共融资50亿美元，港股复牌一度跌超10%

Z.AI Co. dashed back to Hong Kong’s equity market as soon as its last lockup expired, underscoring a cash burn rate that leaves the artificial intelligence model maker’s hunger to take advantage of any fundraising opportunity.

The Beijing-based firm’s $5 billion stock-and-convertible offering, unveiled on Friday, is the latest sign that soaring AI spending is pushing Chinese technology firms to keep tapping investors for fresh capital through repeated fundraisings. It’s forming a pattern after Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s surprise $10 billion deal just last month, which became the biggest-ever follow-on offering in Hong Kong.

Including the latest deal, Z.AI has raised about HK$9.6 billion in Hong Kong this year alone, more than any issuer in the city except Alibaba, an outsize haul for a company that listed only in January. It’s total fundraise is also about on par with the initial public offering of chip giant CXMT Corp., which in a short time has grown to become China’s biggest listed company.

Z.AI took advantage from investor appetite for meaningful AI plays, with a delay to the highly anticipated IPO of its US competitor OpenAI and tapping the market before the listing of Claude chatbot maker Anthropic PBC.

The company formerly known as Zhipu is racing ahead to fund its own buildout even as much of the industry is discussing a slowdown in development to assess the safety and impact of advanced AI models. Anthropic Chief Executive Officer Dario Amodei said Saturday that the company would introduce additional safeguards, including independent third-party evaluations OpenAI CEO Sam Altman backed the proposal, while xAI’s Elon Musk said “Dario is right.”

Read More: Chinese Tech Firms’ Share Sale Spree Sparks Valuation Concerns

Companies have raised more than $42 billion through additional share offerings in Hong Kong this year, already the most since 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Apart from Alibaba and Z.AI’s placements, major deals included MiniMax Group Inc. and Shanghai Biren Technology Co.

Z.AI rushed back to the market a few months after it raised $4 billion in a share sale that priced at the low end of its marketed range. While the latest fundraising was still priced well above the IPO, the shares have come under pressure in recent months, retreating more than 60% from the record high set in June amid broader market caution around the volatility of AI names.

And they face more overhang, with a lockup on about 178 million shares held by employees and pre-IPO investors, equal to more than 35% of its total issued shares, set to expire in January, according to Bloomberg calculations.

“Capital raise creates a better entry,” according to Mo Aziz, an equity long-short analyst who publishes on Smartkarma. Z.AI’s annual recurring revenue “grew from $250 million to $1.6 billion in five months,” but customer concentration risk remains as two customers represent more than 31% of the ARR base, he added.

The proceeds will fund AI research, computing infrastructure and business expansion initiatives, while supporting strategic investments, potential acquisitions and general corporate needs, the company said.

Investors are also watching MiniMax, another Chinese AI firm that listed in Hong Kong this year, for signs it could follow with its own cash call.