Hong Kong-listed Zhipu AI sparked a rally in Chinese AI stocks after unveiling its latest model, GLM-5, on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 — and investors reacted fast.
What happened
- Zhipu AI (listed as Knowledge Atlas Technology) jumped 30%, closing at HK$405 (about $51).
- MiniMax shares climbed 13.7% to HK$70.5 after the company rolled out M2.5, an updated open‑source model with upgraded AI tools, on the same day.
- SenseTime — which has shifted from facial-recognition hardware into AI software platforms — gained 6.8%.
Why the excitement
- GLM-5 is an open-source large-language model focused on stronger coding performance and long-running “agent” tasks (multi-step processes where the model can make decisions and act autonomously).
- Zhipu claims GLM-5 approaches Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5 on coding benchmarks and can outperform Google’s Gemini 3 Pro on select tests.
- MiniMax’s M2.5 also targets improved tooling and developer utility, reinforcing a broader theme: Chinese AI firms are rapidly refining models aimed at coding assistance and autonomous agents — areas where real-world product demand is rising.
What this means for markets
- The launches underscore how China’s AI ecosystem is accelerating and narrowing capability gaps with U.S. peers in specific use cases.
- The immediate market reaction reflects investor appetite for tangible model releases and open-source momentum — both of which make it easier for developers and enterprise buyers to experiment and adopt.
Risks and what to watch
- Short term: the surge could be followed by a pullback if investors reassess valuations amid macro uncertainty or if model claims don’t translate into revenue.
- Longer term: sustained rallies will depend on commercial adoption — enterprise contracts, developer uptake, cloud partnerships, and monetisation of agent-based automation.
- Keep an eye on independent benchmark results, enterprise wins, licensing deals, regulatory headwinds, and broader market liquidity.
Bottom line
GLM-5 and MiniMax’s M2.5 mark meaningful product milestones for Chinese AI firms, and the stocks’ jumps reflect renewed investor optimism. Whether the rally continues will hinge on whether these models convert technical promise into real-world customers and cash flow — and on macro and regulatory forces that could quickly temper sentiment.
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