<div id="readability-page-1"><div>China's artificial intelligence market is starting to show signs of a meaningful shift, with investors increasingly gravitating toward token-driven business models as global demand accelerates. As AI development moves beyond experimentation into real-world deployment, the focus appears to be turning toward token consumption the core unit of data usage in large language models where China's lower-cost infrastructure and abundant electricity could provide a structural advantage. This shift is contributing to early indications that AI inference is evolving into a monetizable activity, rather than remaining a longer-term narrative tied to model development alone.Recent market performance reflects that change in positioning. Newly listed developers MiniMax Group Inc. and Knowledge Atlas Technology Joint Stock Co., known as Zhipu, have reached valuations exceeding $40 billion, surpassing established players such as Baidu Inc. and Kuaishou Technology. Since listing in Hong Kong in January, Zhipu shares have risen approximately 750% while MiniMax has gained 440%, contrasting with declines of 3.6% year to date for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and 12% for Tencent Holdings Ltd. (TCEHY) Investors appear to be responding to visible token usage trends, early pricing dynamics, and the potential for scalable monetization tied directly to AI workloads.Underlying this momentum is China's growing role in global token supply. Data from OpenRouter indicates that models from Xiaomi Corp. (XIACY), Alibaba , and DeepSeek ranked among the most-used globally by token consumption this month, with MiniMax also gaining share behind leaders such as Alphabet Inc. , Anthropic PBC, and OpenAI. Pricing remains a central factor, with some Chinese models offering output token costs around $1 per million compared with higher pricing from certain US peers, which could support continued adoption. While some investors have raised concerns that valuation expansion may be outpacing revenue growth, sustained adoption across domestic and international users could provide a level of support as China's AI ecosystem continues scaling through cost efficiency and increasing real-world utilization.</div></div>

02513

00100

China's AI market is shifting towards token-driven models, with valuations of startups like MiniMax Group and Zhipu exceeding $40 billion. Zhipu's shares surged 750% since its Hong Kong listing, while MiniMax rose 440%. This trend reflects a move from AI development to monetization, supported by China's cost advantages in infrastructure. Despite concerns over valuation growth outpacing revenue, the increasing global demand for AI tokens and competitive pricing may bolster adoption and support the ecosystem's expansion.

GuruFocus

KNOWLEDGE ATLAS

MINIMAX-W

Baidu

BIDU-SW

KUAISHOU-W

Alibaba

BABA-W

Tencent

TENCENT

Xiaomi Corporation

XIAOMI-W

DeepSeek

Alphabet - C

Alphabet

OpenAI

BIDU-SWR

KUAISHOU-WR

BABA-WR

Alibaba HK SDR 5to1

TENCENT-R

Tencent HK SDR 10to1

Tencent Holdings Limited

XIAOMI-WR

Xiaomi HK SDR 2to1

China AI Startups Surge Up To 750% As Token Demand Drives $40 Billion Valuations