China’s MiniMax sees revenue nearly quadruple in first half as AI demand surges

Chinese AI startup MiniMax on Wednesday posted a nearly four-fold jump in first-half revenue as demand for its low-cost models and AI platform accelerated, with the company continuing to target cheaper ways to deploy AI at scale.

Revenue for the six months ended ‌June 30 ⁠rose ⁠283.1% from a year earlier to $116.6 million, reflecting surging demand for cheaper, ​open-source-based models from Chinese providers such as MiniMax and DeepSeek, which position ​themselves as lower-cost alternatives to proprietary U.S. systems.