The Zhitong Finance App learned that, according to media reports, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup “10,000 Things” founded by Li Kaifu is actively promoting a financing plan with the goal of conducting an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong in 2027. 01 Million Things is one of the “Six AI Tigers” in China. The valuation surpassed 1 billion US dollars in just 8 months after establishment. Investors include Alibaba Cloud and others.
According to the report, 01 Million Products is currently seeking to complete a round of pre-IPO financing before going public in Hong Kong. Li Kaifu, founder and CEO of the company, revealed that he hopes to complete this round of financing before and after the first announcement of the annual results, but there is no detailed explanation of the target amount of financing or potential investors. 010,000 Things is seeking funding on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to fund the expensive infrastructure needed to research and support AI services.
Regarding the preparations for the listing that the market is concerned about, Li Kaifu said that the offshore holding structure is being lifted, which is a prerequisite for the company to go public more smoothly overseas. Furthermore, he ruled out any possibility of entering the US market, saying that buyers there are still wary of Chinese software.
Li Kaifu first confirmed the relevant schedule in an interview with the media on the sidelines of the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai: “Our goal is 2027, that is, after the end of the fiscal year.” According to information, the company's fiscal year ended in December.
According to public information, Wanwan is an AI 2.0 company founded by Li Kaifu in Beijing in May 2023. The company focuses on self-developed large-scale model technology, and the core team has corporate backgrounds such as Alibaba, Baidu, and Google.