Zhipu AI, China's AI unicorn, posts 2025 revenue of 724 million yuan, up about 132%

Shares of China’s AI company Zhipu jumped as much as 35% after the firm released its first set of business results, which investors viewed as highly favorable.

First results show sharp revenue growth

In its financial report released on Tuesday, Zhipu said revenue rose about 132% to 724 million yuan in 2025. The figure was below the average analyst forecast of 760 million yuan from a Reuters poll.

Zhipu has been listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange since January, after raising $558 million in its initial public offering. The company is described as China’s first major pure-play AI model business to go public.

Product expansion and new model rollout

Established in 2019, Zhipu recently launched the GLM-5 model. The company said the model is designed to match the performance of its US rivals on several key metrics. Zhipu has also expanded its product line to include AI agents.

The company said more than 4 million small and medium enterprises, as well as developers, are using or partnering with its products, with deployments across many countries and territories.

Open-source agent adoption lifts usage and costs

Zhipu highlighted a wave of adoption of OpenClaw, an open-source AI agent. It said this has pushed the model’s token throughput to new highs, reflecting rising compute demand and higher operating costs.

Government tailwinds and competitive positioning

Benefiting from China’s government push for AI, Zhipu said it will continue to capitalize on market demand and improve product performance.

Chinese media has positioned Zhipu as part of the “AI Four Tigers,” alongside Baichuan, Moonshot AI and MiniMax—startups focused on large language models that are central to China’s push to compete and reduce dependence on US technology.

Business focus and investor base

Zhipu’s flagship product is the Qingyan AI virtual assistant, which the company says can draft documents and handle programming tasks. It is designed for sectors including banking, insurance groups and technology firms.

Investors in Zhipu include Alibaba Cloud, Tencent, Meituan, HongShan, Xiaomi, Qiming Venture Partners, Legend Capital, Hillhouse Capital and China’s National Social Security Fund.

OpenAI-related commentary

In coverage related to OpenAI, OpenAI publicly flagged Zhipu as a leading name in China’s AI ambitions, highlighting its potential to shape broader AI ecosystems.

OpenAI’s concerns were echoed by reports that Zhipu represents China’s effort to build an autonomous AI ecosystem and standards that can compete globally, while offering a “responsible, transparent and auditable” Chinese AI solution.