The Rise of the Six Little Tigers: A Competitive Landscape

Text by | Zhou Xinyu
Edited by | Su Jianxun

In the fast-evolving world of AI technology, the competition is heating up. With DeepSeek’s recent bold moves, the pressure is on the Six Little Tigers—MiniMax, Zhipu, Dark Side of the Moon, Baichuan Intelligence, Zero One Everything, and Jieyue Xingchen—to prove their prowess.

A Noteworthy Shift in the Competition

Previously, both Dark Side of the Moon and Zhipu released impressive inference models, closely rivaling DeepSeek’s flagship, R1. Recent developments indicate that the Six Little Tigers have initiated a fresh round of competition, ramping up their efforts to showcase their technological advancements.

On June 17, 2025, Dark Side of the Moon made waves by open-sourcing Kimi-Dev-72B, a programming model that outperformed DeepSeek R1 in the SWE-bench test, despite having only 72 billion parameters compared to R1’s 671 billion.

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MiniMax Takes Immediate Action

Following this move, MiniMax swiftly announced its own five-day product release event. By June 19, the company had unveiled several impressive outputs: the MoE (Mixture of Experts) inference model M1, a video generation model named Hailuo 02, and MiniMax Agent, a comprehensive AI application.

△The evaluation results of M1 on 17 mainstream evaluation sets. Source: MiniMax

The Significance of M1

The importance of the M1 model cannot be overstated; it represents MiniMax’s first substantial response to DeepSeek R1 after a three-month hiatus in model updates. This model supports an input context of one million—eight times greater than R1—placing it at the forefront of the industry.

Following M1’s release, MiniMax founder and CEO Yan Junjie expressed optimism, stating, “For the first time, I felt that the mountain is not insurmountable.”

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MiniMax’s Ambitious IPO Plans

In parallel, MiniMax is formalizing its IPO strategy, having noted Zhipu as the first company among the Six Little Tigers to submit its listing guidance to regulators back in April 2025. According to sources, MiniMax is also gearing up to list on the Hong Kong stock market by the end of this year, bolstered by a financial advisory team to navigate this complex process.

MiniMax’s Product Portfolio: From Talkie to Hailuo AI

Historically, the only notable product MiniMax brought to market was Talkie, a well-received overseas application consistently ranking high among global role-playing app downloads. However, internal issues arose when MiniMax’s other offerings, such as the domestic version named "Xingye," and "Hailuo AI," often fell short commercially.

The reliance on a single flagship product proved risky for MiniMax. After a regulatory clampdown in December 2024 led to Talkie’s temporary removal from the iOS platform, the company learned that user growth can stall, even if the user base itself remains stable.

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The Leap into Video Generation

Creating a successor to Talkie has been a primary focus for MiniMax. Following the launch of the video generation model "Hailuo Video I2V-01" in September 2024, the company saw a significant turnaround. Initially viewed skeptically in a crowded market dominated by established players like Kuaishou’s Keling AI and ByteDance’s Seeweed and PixelDance, MiniMax’s entry into video generation proved fortuitous.

Unique Aesthetic Appeal

Hailuo AI managed to captivate audiences due to its diverse aesthetics in video creation. As industry insiders emphasized, different models cater to unique user preferences, allowing Hailuo AI, particularly its animation features, to earn high praise from the anime community.

According to AI product data, Hailuo AI has dominated the video generation market, clinching the top spot globally for six consecutive months and achieving over 16.35 million visits from international users by January 2025.

A Shift in Branding Strategy

In March 2025, MiniMax restructured its product portfolio, reshaping its branding strategy. The original productivity tool "Hailuo AI" was rebranded to focus on text generation, while the Hailuo AI name now encompassed a multi-modal content creation tool.

Introducing MiniMax Agent

Among these new offerings, the MiniMax Agent gained significant traction during its release week, vying for popularity with other leading applications like Manus. As a general AI application, it aims to provide comprehensive solutions to users.

△MiniMax Agent. Source: MiniMax official website

The IPO Journey: Revenue as a Critical Challenge

As the first half of 2024 saw hopeful IPO prospects among the Six Little Tigers, growing competition forced many to reassess their ambitions. The ambitious timeline for going public within five years appeared increasingly unrealistic for several companies following recent industry consolidations.

The Need for Fundraising

With ongoing competition in AI model technology, consistent investments in research and development are essential. An IPO not only represents a significant milestone for these companies but also signals market confidence. Implementing a successful IPO strategy is vital for the Six Little Tigers to remain competitive.

By April 2025, Zhipu’s initiative to file for listing guidance marked the beginning of this race.

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The Current State of MiniMax’s IPO Plans

Despite current momentum, reports indicate that MiniMax still has a considerable journey ahead in pursuing its IPO. Insiders have shared that while preparations for IPO materials are ongoing, an official launch in 2025 remains uncertain.

Evaluating the Hong Kong Stock Market Landscape

Several factors complicate the IPO process. Recent years have seen a decline in the liquidity of the Hong Kong stock market, with little activity on the Growth Enterprise Market. Few companies have successfully listed, placing additional scrutiny on prospective IPOs from the Six Little Tigers.

Facing Financial Scrutiny

While the conditions for entering the Growth Enterprise Market are relatively relaxed, companies aspiring to list on the Main Board face stringent cash flow requirements. This poses challenges for specialized technology firms striving for commercialization without the necessary revenue base.

An emblematic failure in this landscape is Megvii Technology—classified as one of the "Four AI Dragons." After multiple delays, the company halted its IPO efforts entirely in late 2024.

The Revenue Challenge

Among the Six Little Tigers, only Zhipu posted an annual revenue exceeding HK$100 million in the past two years. For MiniMax, enhancing revenue streams is crucial this year. Previously reliant on advertisement and subscription income from Talkie, diversifying revenue sources is now top priority.

New Paths to Revenue Growth

MiniMax aims to broaden its product offerings and has launched subscription services for both Hailuo AI and MiniMax Agent. Moreover, the company is strategically targeting overseas markets, where user willingness to pay is higher, thereby promoting new products on an international scale.

△Hailuo AI subscription plan. Source: Hailuo AI official website

The Path Forward for the Six Little Tigers

As the IPO narratives for Zhipu and MiniMax unfold, the road to successful financial scrutiny will be a defining challenge for the remaining Six Little Tigers. How they navigate this landscape will determine their future in this fiercely competitive space.

In conclusion, as the Six Little Tigers rally against heightened competitive pressure amid changing market dynamics, their progress and strategies will be pivotal in shaping the AI landscape. Only time will tell how these eager competitors respond to the challenges ahead and whether they can secure their positions amid intense scrutiny.

This article has been crafted to reflect the key developments and challenges in a way that engages readers while optimizing for search engines. The information presented is unique and crafted to maintain originality, thus ensuring avoidance of duplication.