AI race is also a capital-markets competition

Praveen Paranjothi · 2026-07-23T06:32:40.000Z

Chinese AI companies are reportedly rushing to raise capital through IPOs and private financing. At least six Chinese AI startups, along with memory-chip and humanoid robot companies, are preparing Shanghai or Hong Kong listings by 2027. Moonshot AI is valued at more than $30bn. DeepSeek is reportedly targeting a $70bn valuation. ByteDance and Tencent are raising billions through bond markets to support AI spending. The financing routes are differing across markets. The US model is large private rounds, cloud balance sheets and private companies staying private for longer. China’s route may be domestic IPOs, state-backed capital and local public markets. Europe is trying public-private scale-up funds. The race is the same, AI but different capital machinery. For LPs and growth investors, the financing route has an impact on where value is captured. In the US, the best AI companies can stay private for a long time. In China, public markets may be used earlier to fund scale and distribute risk. In Europe, policy capital may sit alongside private capital. A model company is expensive. A chip company is expensive. A robotics company is expensive. The capital market behind the company becomes part of the advantage. AI is not only a technology race now but also a funding architecture race.

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AI race is also a capital-markets competition | Newnex