01.AI, one of China's "AI Six Tigers" founded by computer scientist Lee Kai-fu, is seeking to raise capital in a pre-initial public offering funding round before going public in Hong Kong in 2027, Bloomberg reported on Monday.
Lee, also the former China chief of Google, said that the company is set to conclude the financing round around the time when it posts the first annual results, while he didn't unveil the fundraising goals or potential investors, the report said.
He noted that "We're aiming for 2027, after the fiscal year-end." The company's fiscal year ends in December.
01.AI is working on unwinding its offshore holding structure to pave the way for the overseas listing, according to the report.
The Beijing-based AI startup was established in 2023 and reached a valuation of more than US$1 billion (HK$7.8 billion) within the year after a funding round that included Alibaba's (9988) cloud unit.
Currently, all China's "AI Six Tigers" are preparing to list or have already made their debut, aiming to raise capital for their AI development.
Moonshot's IPO is set to walk onto Hong Kong's main stage within six months, and StepFun is reportedly set to file for the city's IPO soon. DeepSeek started early deliberations on a potential IPO on Shanghai's STAR Market.
Knowledge Atlas Technology (2513), or Zhipu AI, has surged over 6 times year-to-date on the Hong Kong exchange, while its rival MiniMax (0100) retreated over 40 percent during the period.
