Stock Markets March 2, 2026

MiniMax posts strong revenue surge and maps out wider AI product roadmap

Chinese AI startup reports rapid top-line growth, international sales majority and plans expanded multimodal offerings while remaining loss-making

By Derek Hwang
MiniMax posts strong revenue surge and maps out wider AI product roadmap

MiniMax, a China-based artificial intelligence startup, reported a 159% year-on-year increase in revenue to $79 million for 2025, with over 70% of sales generated outside China. Revenue from consumer-facing AI products rose 143.4%, and its open platform and enterprise services recorded comparable growth. Following a Hong Kong IPO that raised HK$4.8 billion ($614 million) in January, the company outlined ambitions to be both a model developer and a platform provider, keep an open-source approach, and release its M3 model in the first half of this year. Despite growth, MiniMax remains loss-making, recording a $1.87 billion net loss in 2025, largely driven by changes in the value of its financial instruments, and is considerably smaller than major U.S. rivals whose annualized revenue reached $20 billion in 2025.

Key Points

  • MiniMax’s revenue rose 159% year-on-year to $79 million in 2025, with more than 70% of sales generated outside China, indicating substantial international demand.
  • Revenue from AI-centered products, mainly consumer subscriptions, jumped 143.4%; open platform and enterprise services expanded at a similar pace, affecting consumer software and enterprise AI markets.
  • The company plans to serve as both a developer of AI models and a product platform, keep an open-source approach to attract external developers, and target release of its M3 model in the first half of this year.

BEIJING - March 2

Chinese artificial intelligence firm MiniMax reported a notable acceleration in revenue for 2025 and laid out plans to broaden its product suite and international reach. The company said revenue climbed 159% year-on-year to $79 million, and that more than 70% of that revenue originated from customers outside China.

Growth was particularly strong in lines directly tied to its AI offerings. Income from product areas built around AI - mainly consumer subscription services - rose 143.4%. MiniMax also said its open platform and enterprise services segment recorded similar double-digit expansion, underscoring demand across both consumer and business markets.

This financial update is the company’s first detailed earnings disclosure since completing a Hong Kong initial public offering in January that raised HK$4.8 billion ($614 million). Executives framed the results as evidence of rising demand for lower-cost models based on open-source frameworks, positioning MiniMax and other Chinese providers as alternatives to higher-priced proprietary systems from some U.S. companies.

MiniMax’s strategy contrasts with a peer, DeepSeek, which is focused on text-based reasoning models and developer tooling. MiniMax emphasized multimodal capabilities spanning text, video and audio as a differentiator.

On a post-earnings call, CEO Yan Junjie said the company intends to operate both as a model maker and as a product platform while maintaining an open-source posture to draw third-party developers. The company reiterated plans to launch its next-generation M3 model in the first half of this year.

Despite the revenue acceleration, MiniMax remains loss-making. The firm reported a net loss of $1.87 billion in 2025, compared with a $465.2 million loss the prior year. Company disclosures state that the majority of the 2025 shortfall resulted from changes in the valuation of financial instruments it holds.

MiniMax’s scale remains much smaller than that of major U.S. competitors. The company noted OpenAI’s annualized revenue reached $20 billion in 2025, highlighting the difference in size even as MiniMax pursues international expansion and broader product offerings.

CEO Yan expressed a view on market dynamics, saying: "We believe AI is not currently a zero-sum market, but rather one where annual incremental growth far exceeds the existing base," and he identified areas of opportunity including coding, office productivity and video generation.

The company also published the exchange rate used in its financial context: $1 equals 7.8216 Hong Kong dollars.


The company update and its strategic outline underscore the split between rapid top-line growth driven by internationally distributed sales and continuing losses largely tied to financial instrument revaluations. MiniMax’s open-source emphasis and multimodal product focus position it among lower-cost providers seeking to scale outside China, even as it remains materially smaller than leading U.S. incumbents.

Risks

  • MiniMax remains loss-making, recording a net loss of $1.87 billion in 2025 versus a $465.2 million loss a year earlier, which presents ongoing profitability risk for investors and stakeholders - impacting corporate finance and technology investment sectors.
  • A substantial portion of the 2025 loss stemmed from changes in the value of financial instruments the company holds, indicating exposure to valuation swings and financial-market risk - relevant to corporate treasury and financial markets.
  • MiniMax is still far smaller than major U.S. competitors, with OpenAI’s annualized revenue at $20 billion in 2025, creating competitive and scale-related uncertainties that affect market positioning within the global AI industry.

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