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Analysis of Valuation Rationality of Zhipu AI (02513.HK) and Investment Prospects of the Domestic Large Model Sector

#ai_large_model #ipo #valuation_analysis #hong_kong_stock #tech #investment_strategy #maas
Mixed
HK Stock
January 18, 2026

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Analysis of Valuation Rationality of Zhipu AI (02513.HK) and Investment Prospects of the Domestic Large Model Sector
I. Company Overview and Listing Background
1.1 Basic Company Information

Zhipu AI (Stock Code: 02513.HK)

officially listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) on January 8, 2026
, becoming the world’s first enterprise to list on a public capital market with a general artificial intelligence (AGI) foundation model as its core business, and is widely known in the market as the “world’s first large model stock”[1][2].

The company originated from the Knowledge Engineering Laboratory of the Department of Computer Science at Tsinghua University, was independently established in 2019, and emerged from the technology achievement transformation of Tsinghua University. It has completed 8 rounds of financing totaling over RMB 8.3 billion, with investors including more than 50 institutions such as Sequoia China, Hillhouse, Alibaba, Tencent, and Meituan[3]. Huakong Technology, Tsinghua University’s technology achievement transformation platform, holds a 3.53% stake, corresponding to a market value of approximately HK$3.883 billion[4].

1.2 Basic IPO Information
Item Data
Issue Price HK$116.2 per share
Issue Size 37.4195 million H-shares
Total Fund Raised Approximately HK$4.3 billion
IPO Market Capitalization Approximately HK$51.1 billion
First-Day Closing Price HK$131.5 (+13.17%)[2]

Regarding the use of raised funds, 70% is allocated to R&D of general AI large models, and approximately 10% is used to optimize the MaaS platform[1].


II. Analysis of Stock Price Performance After Listing
2.1 Stock Price Trend After Listing

As of January 18, 2026 (the 10th trading day after listing), the stock price performance of Zhipu AI is as follows:

Indicator Data
Latest Stock Price Approximately HK$252
IPO Issue Price HK$116.2
Cumulative Increase
+116.9%
Highest Price HK$252
Lowest Price HK$131.5
Current Market Capitalization Approximately HK$110 billion

Performance at Key Time Nodes:

  • January 8 (First Day of Listing)
    : Closed at HK$131.5, with an increase of 13.17%[2]
  • January 12
    : Reached a strategic cooperation with Didi, the stock price soared
    31.40%
    in a single day to HK$208.4[5]
  • January 16
    : The GLM-Image model, jointly open-sourced with Huawei, topped the Hugging Face rankings, and the stock price continued to rise[4]
2.2 Technical Indicator Analysis
Indicator Value Interpretation
Average Daily Increase 9.14% Extremely High Growth
Daily Volatility 14.00% Severe Fluctuations
5-Day Moving Average HK$235.70 Above the Moving Average
Short-Term Trend Strong Uptrend Abundant Upward Momentum

Zhipu AI Stock Price Chart


III. In-Depth Analysis of Valuation Rationality
3.1 Core Valuation Indicators
Valuation Indicator Value Industry Comparison
Current PS (Price-to-Sales Ratio)
149x
(Based on 2025E Revenue)
Industry average is approximately 50x
PS at IPO 164x (Based on 2024 Revenue) Significantly higher than the industry
Expected 2026 PS 68.8x Tending to be reasonable
Expected 2027 PS 41.0x Entering the reasonable range
3.2 Valuation Comparison with Peer Companies
Company PS Ratio Business Model Development Stage
Zhipu AI (Current) 149x MaaS + B-end Growth Stage
Zhipu AI (IPO) 164x MaaS + B-end Growth Stage
OpenAI ~30x Subscription + C-end Mature Stage
Anthropic ~25x Subscription + C-end Growth Stage
MiniMax 120x C-end Applications Growth Stage
Baidu 8x Search + Cloud Mature Stage
Industry Average
~50x
- Growth Stage

Analysis Conclusion
: Zhipu AI’s current PS ratio (149x) is significantly higher than:

  • Approximately
    5-6 times
    that of international peers OpenAI/Anthropic (25-30x)
  • Approximately
    18 times
    that of domestic mature company Baidu (8x)
  • Approximately
    3 times
    the industry average valuation for the growth stage (50x)
3.3 Valuation Analysis Driven by Revenue Growth
Year Revenue (CNY 100 million) Reasonable Market Capitalization Range (50-100x PS)
2024A 3.1 HK$15.6-31.2 billion
2025E 7.4 HK$36.9-73.8 billion
2026E 16.0 HK$80-160 billion
2027E 26.8 HK$134-268 billion

Key Financial Data
:

  • 2022-2024 Revenue CAGR:
    130%
    [1]
  • H1 2025 Revenue: CNY 191 million, YoY Growth:
    325%
    [1]
  • 2025 Full-Year Revenue: Over US$100 million (approximately CNY 740 million)[2]
3.4 Simplified DCF Valuation (3-Year Discount Method)

Calculated based on a 15% discount rate:

  • 2025E Net Profit: -CNY 740 million (Present Value: -CNY 640 million)
  • 2026E Net Profit: -CNY 1.04 billion (Present Value: -CNY 790 million)
  • 2027E Net Profit: -CNY 800 million (Present Value: -CNY 530 million)
  • Enterprise Value After 3-Year Discount: -CNY 4.23 billion

Valuation Conclusion
: As the company is not yet profitable, the DCF model shows negative value, and its valuation mainly relies on market expectations and growth narratives for support.

3.5 Comprehensive Valuation Rating
Valuation Scenario Market Capitalization Range Corresponding Stock Price
Conservative Valuation HK$66-99 billion HK$150-225
Neutral Valuation
HK$99-132 billion
HK$225-300
Optimistic Valuation HK$132-154 billion HK$300-350
Current Status
HK$110 billion
HK$252

Valuation Rating
:
Neutral to Slightly Expensive

Rating Rationale
:

  1. Current valuation (HK$110 billion) is at the upper end of the neutral valuation range
  2. Valuation has fully reflected growth expectations, requiring sustained high-speed growth for support
  3. PS ratio is significantly higher than that of international peers
  4. Limited upside potential in the short term; commercialization capabilities need to be verified in the long term

IV. Investment Prospects of the Domestic Large Model Sector
4.1 Market Size and Growth Forecast
Time Node Market Size CAGR
2024 CNY 29.416 billion -
2025E Approximately CNY 50 billion ~70%
2026E Approximately CNY 70 billion ~40%
2030E CNY 101.1 billion 63.5% (2024-2030)

Segmented Markets
:

  • 2024 Multimodal Large Model Market Size:
    CNY 15.63 billion
  • 2030E Enterprise-Grade Large Model Market Size:
    CNY 90.4 billion
    [6]
4.2 Competitive Landscape Analysis
Market Share Distribution (By Revenue)
Ranking Enterprise Market Share Characteristics
1 Baidu 18.5% Full-stack layout, government and enterprise market
2
Zhipu AI
6.6%
Top Independent Vendor
3 Alibaba 15.2% Tongyi Qianwen
4 ByteDance 12.8% Doubao
5 Tencent 10.5% Hunyuan

Industry Landscape Evolution
:

  • The era of the “Six Tigers” ended in 2025, and the industry entered the
    Fierce Competition
    stage[6]
  • Leading internet giants (ByteDance, Alibaba) are accelerating their market positioning with advantages in computing power and talent
  • DeepSeek is seizing market share with its open-source ecosystem, driving industry price wars
4.3 Competitive Advantages of Zhipu AI
Advantage Area Specific Performance
Technical Status
Top
independent general large model developer in China,
2nd
among all vendors[5]
Model Capability GLM-4.7 ranks first in both open-source and domestic categories on the Artificial Analysis and Code Arena rankings[2]
Commercialization MaaS ARR reaches CNY 500 million (25x growth in 10 months)[7]
Ecological Coverage Empowers 12,000 enterprise customers, 80 million terminal devices, and 4.5 million developers[5]
Internationalization Southeast Asia accounts for 11.1% of revenue; GLM-4.7 has 150,000 paid developers in 184 countries[2][7]
4.4 Business Model Analysis

Zhipu AI adopts a

B-end local deployment-focused + MaaS cloud service-supplementary
model:

Revenue Type 2024 Proportion Gross Margin Characteristics
Local Deployment 84.5% 59-68% High gross margin, customized
Cloud MaaS 15.5% 3.4% (2024) Low gross margin, price war impact
Overall Gross Margin
-
56.3%
Favorable overall profitability

Business Model Advantages
:

  • Annualized customer unit price for top clients reaches
    CNY 2.15 million
  • Top 5 customers contribute approximately 50% of revenue, with high customer stickiness
  • Cloud service proportion is gradually increasing (from 0 to 15%), with long-term improvement potential[7]

V. Investment Recommendations and Risk Warnings
5.1 Investment Rating:
Hold
(Neutral)
Dimension Rating Description
Valuation Rationality ★★★☆☆ Current valuation is relatively high, requiring growth verification
Growth Potential ★★★★★ Extremely fast revenue growth (130% CAGR)
Competitive Position ★★★★☆ Top independent vendor, with continuously increasing market share
Commercialization Capability ★★★★☆ MaaS model is gradually being verified
Risk Level ★★★☆☆ Fierce competition, sustained losses
5.2 Investment Logic

Long-term Bullish Factors
:

  1. High Sector Growth
    : Domestic large model market 2024-2030 CAGR of 63.5%
  2. Leading Position
    : Top independent vendor with continuously increasing market share
  3. Commercialization Verification
    : Explosive growth of MaaS business, with ARR reaching CNY 500 million
  4. Internationalization Potential
    : Rapid growth of overseas revenue, breaking U.S. monopoly
  5. Strategic Cooperation
    : Reached cooperation with leading enterprises such as Didi and Huawei[5]

Short-term Risk Factors
:

  1. Valuation Pressure
    : PS ratio is significantly higher than that of peer companies
  2. Sustained Losses
    : H1 2025 net loss of CNY 2.358 billion[6]
  3. Intensified Competition
    : Giants such as ByteDance and Alibaba continue to increase AI investment
  4. Price Wars
    : Open-source impact from DeepSeek puts pressure on MaaS gross margin
  5. Severe Volatility
    : Over 110% increase in 10 days since listing, with extreme volatility
5.3 Target Price Range
Scenario Target Price Market Capitalization
Conservative HK$180 HK$79.2 billion
Neutral
HK$250
HK$110 billion
Optimistic HK$320 HK$140.8 billion
5.4 Risk Warnings
  1. Execution Risk
    : High valuation requires sustained high-speed revenue growth, with execution uncertainties
  2. Competition Risk
    : ByteDance’s planned 2026 capital expenditure reaches CNY 160 billion, with an AI chip budget of CNY 85 billion[6]
  3. Price Risk
    : Open-source models such as DeepSeek impact the business model, with ongoing MaaS price wars
  4. Profitability Risk
    : Difficult to achieve profitability in the short term, with sustained high losses
  5. Market Risk
    : Severe stock price fluctuations, with short-term trends dominated by speculative capital

VI. Investment Strategy for the Domestic Large Model Sector
6.1 Sector Investment Rating:
Active Attention
6.2 Investment Themes
Investment Theme Target Type Recommendation Rationale
Computing Power Infrastructure Chips, Servers Sustained AI arms race drives strong demand for computing power
Leading Model Vendors Zhipu AI, Baidu Beneficiaries of increasing market share concentration
Leading Vertical Application Players Scenario-Based Companies Vertical AI is thriving, with implementation efficiency as a priority
Beneficiaries of Open-Source Ecosystem Technology Service Companies DeepSeek leads the open-source trend
6.3 Investment Timing

Short-Term (1-3 Months)
:

  • Zhipu AI’s valuation has fully reflected expectations;
    wait and see
    is recommended
  • Monitor industry changes brought by DeepSeek’s open-source ecosystem

Medium-Term (3-6 Months)
:

  • Wait for valuation regression (PS falls below 80x)
  • Monitor verification of sustained growth in MaaS business

Long-Term (6-12 Months)
:

  • Industry landscape gradually clarifies, leading to valuation re-rating of leaders
  • Monitor profitability path and timeline

VII. Conclusion

As the “world’s first large model stock”, Zhipu AI has performed strongly since listing, with a cumulative increase of over 110% and a current market capitalization of approximately HK$110 billion. From a valuation perspective, its current PS ratio (149x) is significantly higher than that of international peers (25-30x) and the industry average (50x), placing its valuation at a

neutral to slightly expensive
level.

Investment Rating:

Hold

  • Short-Term: Valuation has fully reflected growth expectations; wait and see is recommended
  • Long-Term: As a leader in the domestic large model sector, it benefits from high-speed industry growth and is worthy of allocation

The domestic large model sector is in a period of rapid growth, with an expected CAGR of 63.5% from 2024 to 2030. Despite fierce competition and ongoing price wars, the industry has broad expansion space, and leading companies are expected to emerge victorious in the industry reshuffle. It is recommended that investors maintain active attention and wait for a better allocation timing.


References

[1] National Business News - “The first large model stock is here! Zhipu starts roadshow today, IPO market capitalization expected to exceed HK$51.1 billion” (https://finance.eastmoney.com/a/202512303605496361.html)
[2] Securities Times - “World’s first large model stock” Zhipu’s market capitalization exceeds HK$57 billion on its first day of listing" (https://www.stcn.com/article/detail/3580246.html)
[3] Securities Times Network - Zhipu Huazhang Technology lists on HKEX" (https://xnews.jin10.com/details/206026)
[4] PE Daily - Zhipu reaches HK$100 billion, Tsinghua makes a killing" (https://news.pedaily.cn/202601/560060.shtml)
[5] Securities Times - Zhipu surges 31.40% after reaching strategic cooperation with Didi" (https://www.stcn.com/article/detail/3588160.html)
[6] Caishi China - Behind the rush for the “first large model stock”: 2025 domestic large model battle" (https://www.caishiv.com/insight/detail?id=31326)
[7] The Paper - “Chinese version of OpenAI” Zhipu lists: The gold content of China’s AI large models" (https://m.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_32343111)
[8] Geek Park - An analysis of China’s path amid 2025 global large model competition" (https://www.geekpark.net/news/358139)

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Insights are generated using AI models and historical data for informational purposes only. They do not constitute investment advice or recommendations. Past performance is not indicative of future results.