Moonshot AI, the Beijing startup behind the Kimi chatbot, has confidentially filed an A1 application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange this week, formally starting the process toward a possible listing, according to a report citing sources. Reuters separately reported the company is seeking to raise about $3B in an offering that would value it near $50B.
Moonshot declined to comment on the market report, saying it had no information to disclose. The filing marks a shift from an August rumor that the company planned to file within the month, which Moonshot described at the time as untrue.
The startup is also reportedly raising new private funding at a pre-money valuation around $50B, a round that could be its final one before a listing. A Hong Kong debut at that scale would put Moonshot among the biggest Chinese AI companies to reach public markets and add momentum to Hong Kong’s resurgent tech IPO pipeline.
Founded in 2023 by Yang Zhilin, a Carnegie Mellon-trained AI researcher, Moonshot has raised more than $5.5B to date. Backers include Alibaba, Tencent, IDG Capital and HSG, formerly Sequoia Capital China, plus Meituan, China Mobile and private equity firm CPE, which joined a more than $2B raise months ago.
Regulatory approvals remain pending and the size and timing of the offering could change with market conditions. The confidential filing gives Moonshot flexibility to move when the window opens, a pattern increasingly common among Chinese AI firms weighing dual-track fundraising.
