Knowledge Atlas targets 15 billion yuan in Shanghai listing
Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co. Ltd. plans to raise up to 15 billion yuan ($2.22 billion) in a second listing on Shanghai's STAR Market, issuing 38.8 million shares. The funds will support AI foundational large language models, a MaaS platform, and working capital. The company reported a 131.9% revenue increase to 724 million yuan last year but widened its adjusted net loss to 3.18 billion yuan.
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Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co. Ltd. plans to raise up to 15 billion yuan ($2.22 billion) in a second listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's STAR Market, targeting domestic investors just five months after its Hong Kong debut. The company aims to issue up to 38.8 million shares, representing about 8% of its enlarged share capital, to fund AI general-purpose foundational large language models (LLM), a large model-as-a-service (MaaS) platform, and working capital. The LLM project is the most capital-intensive, requiring 12 billion yuan alone.
Capital allocation and financial performance
The proposed fundraising is equivalent to more than 20 times Knowledge Atlas' full-year revenue for 2025. The company raised net proceeds of about HK$4.9 billion ($625 million) from its Hong Kong IPO in January, and as of May 29, it still had about HK$2.84 billion in unutilized funds. This indicates the Shanghai IPO is driven by industry competition and long-term planning rather than immediate operational needs.
Knowledge Atlas reported revenue of 724 million yuan last year, up 131.9% from 2024. However, its adjusted net loss widened to 3.18 billion yuan from a 2.21 billion yuan loss in 2024. The company's loss last year was more than quadruple its revenue, highlighting the high cash burn rate of large model developers.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Proposed Shanghai fundraising | 15 billion yuan |
| Hong Kong IPO net proceeds | HK$4.9 billion |
| Unutilized HK IPO funds (as of May 29) | HK$2.84 billion |
| Last year revenue | 724 million yuan |
| Last year adjusted net loss | 3.18 billion yuan |
Market valuation and strategic shift
Knowledge Atlas' Hong Kong shares skyrocketed as high as HK$1,291 after debuting at HK$116.20 in January, representing a 10-fold rise and pushing its market capitalization past HK$570 billion. Its current price-to-sales (P/S) ratio has reached 769 times. The company's decision to tap the Shanghai market follows a trend where AI enterprises list in Hong Kong first to establish a market-driven valuation before returning to domestic markets for additional financing.
MiniMax (0100.HK), another AI company that listed in Hong Kong early this year, has also initiated the process for an eventual listing in Shanghai or Shenzhen. The STAR Market offers advantages in capital depth and policy support, with domestic markets routinely assigning higher valuations to hard tech companies. Knowledge Atlas' strategy involves proving its worth in Hong Kong first before accessing the more abundant funding and policy support in the Mainland market.
How will the company manage investor expectations given the proposed fundraising is over 20 times its projected 2025 revenue?
Will the success of this dual-listing strategy trigger a wave of similar follow-on offerings from other AI firms listed in Hong Kong?
Can the company sustain its current high valuation premium if the path to profitability for LLMs remains elusive?
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