Chinese artificial intelligence start-up Moonshot confidentially filed for an initial public offering in Hong Kong on September 2, 2026, according to multiple reports including LatePost [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. The company plans to raise approximately US$3 billion from the offering [6, 1, 2].
Moonshot is the developer of Kimi, a large language model also known as Kimi K3, which launched in July 2026 and features 2.8 trillion parameters [7, 4, 5]. Since the start of 2026, Moonshot has rapidly released iterative improvements to its AI model: K2.5 in January, K2.6 in April and June, and K3 in July [4, 5].
The company's valuation has soared this year, climbing from about US$4.3 billion at the end of 2025 to around US$50 billion in the current funding round [3, 4, 5]. Moonshot's annual recurring revenue grew from over US$100 million in March 2026 to more than US$300 million by mid-2026, driven in part by the K3 release [4, 5].
Before filing for the IPO, Moonshot restructured its corporate setup, abandoning its offshore incorporation and converting to an onshore China domicile as required for the listing [6, 1, 2]. The firm is working with banks including Goldman Sachs, China International Capital Corporation (CICC), and Deutsche Bank on the transaction [6, 1, 2].
Market observers note Moonshot could be the first among major Chinese AI start-ups like DeepSeek to complete a public listing, potentially ahead of rivals [3, 4]. However, Moonshot declined to comment, telling media it "doesn't comment on market rumours or speculation" and currently has "no information to disclose" on the IPO [7, 3, 4, 5].
The timing of the IPO depends on regulatory approvals and market conditions. The listing could come as soon as the fourth quarter of 2026, or possibly in early 2027 [1, 7, 5].
