China AI startup MiniMax raising over $250 mln from Tencent-backed entity, others: sources

BEIJING/HONG KONG: Chinese startup MiniMax, working on AI solutions similar to that of Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT, is close to completing a fundraising of more than $250 million that will value it at about $1.2 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The deal comes amid a global AI buzz kicked off by ChatGPT that has spread to China, shoring up stocks in artificial intelligence firms and prompting a flurry of domestic companies, such as Alibaba, Huawei, and Baidu, to announce rival products.

MiniMax’s latest fundraising drew in new investors such as an entity linked to technology giant Tencent, two people said, on condition of anonymity as the information was not public.