Prime Highlights
- Zhipu AI posted nearly 132 per cent revenue growth in 2025, its first full-year results since listing in Hong Kong in January.
- Its GLM-5 model has drawn attention in Silicon Valley, with assessments suggesting it competes with leading American AI models.
Key Facts
- Zhipu AI is a spinoff from Tsinghua University and competes with major players including DeepSeek, ByteDance, and Alibaba in China’s fast-growing AI sector.
- On-premise deployment revenue more than doubled to 533.9 million yuan, while cloud-based API services contributed 190.4 million yuan.
Background
Chinese AI firm Zhipu AI has recorded nearly 132 per cent revenue growth for 2025, releasing its first full-year financial results since going public in Hong Kong in January, where it raised HK$4.35 billion.
The company, a spinoff from Tsinghua University, has been gaining recognition beyond China. The newest GLM-5 model developed by the company has attracted interest from Silicon Valley because initial evaluations show its performance matches top American models in multiple assessment criteria.
Revenue from its on-premise deployment business, where clients run Zhipu’s AI models on their own servers, more than doubled to 533.9 million yuan. Cloud-based API services sold to businesses and individual users added another 190.4 million yuan.
Profitability, however, remains a work in progress. Zhipu reported a net loss of 4.72 billion yuan for 2025, wider than the 2.96 billion yuan shortfall from the previous year. On an adjusted basis, the loss stood at 3.18 billion yuan. The company says it plans to reach profitability through continued revenue expansion and tighter cost management, though no specific timeline has been offered.
The broader landscape in China’s AI industry is getting more crowded by the month. Zhipu, also known as Knowledge Atlas Technology, faces competition from fast-growing startups like DeepSeek, MiniMax, and Moonshot AI, alongside technology heavyweights ByteDance and Alibaba. MiniMax also reported a net loss of $1.87 billion for 2025.
Zhipu has been pushing into Southeast Asian markets, though the bulk of its business still comes from within China.
