MiniMax revenue surges 283% but remains behind pace to meet forecast amid crowded AI race

Chinese artificial intelligence company MiniMax reported a staggering 283% increase in first-half revenue to US$116.6 million, driven by a 700% jump in its enterprise business, though overall revenue growth lagged behind analyst forecasts for the full year. The company's revenue accounted for about 32% of the US$363.77 million expected by analysts for 2026, according to Bloomberg estimates.

MiniMax's enterprise-facing business, including its Open Platform and other AI-based services, saw revenue jump over 700% year-over-year to US$73.9 million, making up 63.4% of total revenue. This segment grew as paying users and enterprise customers increased. Revenue from other AI-native products also doubled during the period.

Total loss for the six months narrowed 11% to US$358 million, but adjusted net loss expanded 111.2% to US$293 million. The company's gross profit grew more than five-fold to US$20.8 million, with gross profit margin increasing to 17.9% from 12.1% in the same period last year. MiniMax's shares closed up 1.13% at HK$303 on Wednesday ahead of the earnings announcement.

Founded in 2021, the Shanghai-based company is known for its M-series large language models (LLMs) and popular consumer apps like Hailuo AI. The company had announced in May that its annual recurring revenue had reached about US$300 million, up from US$150 million in February. Both MiniMax and fellow Chinese developer Zhipu AI, which went public earlier this year, have seen their valuations plummet since their initial public offerings, with MiniMax now trading at about 77% below its all-time high.

Both companies face intense competition from other Chinese AI model developers and strive to catch up with US AI labs like Anthropic and OpenAI. MiniMax's latest LLM, the M3, launched in June but has yet to establish a clear advantage over competitors, leaving it vulnerable to stronger models and aggressive economics from rivals.