Alibaba leads US$600m AI financing round

Alibaba (9988) is leading a financing round of at least US$600 million (HK$4.66 billion) for Chinese artificial intelligence startup MiniMax, spearheading its second major deal in the space this year as it deploys capital in pursuit of growth.

The two-year-old firm has secured funds from Alibaba and other investors at a valuation of more than US$2.5 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The fundraising remains in progress but Alibaba and Hong Shan, formerly Sequoia China, have committed to the financing.

Alibaba led a US$1 billion funding round in recent months in Moonshot AI, boosting the year-old startup's valuation also to about US$2.5 billion. The successive deals show Alibaba's keen to place bets on potential future leaders in artificial intelligence - even if they don't necessarily dovetail.