Macquarie has revised upward its ARR projections for Zhipu AI, setting targets of $2.0 billion for 2026 and $4.5 billion for 2027, driven by what the bank describes as Zhipu’s leading position in code generation capabilities. The firm highlighted the role of Zhipu’s GLM 5-2 model in broadening customer adoption and shortening development cycles.
According to Macquarie, Zhipu’s ARR crossed the $1.0 billion mark in July, reaching that milestone ahead of the company’s full-year target. The investment bank points to the GLM 5-2 model as a principal factor behind faster uptake and more rapid iteration among users.
Market moves have been sharp year-to-date. Zhipu’s share price has climbed 1,316% over the period, while competitor Minimax recorded a 35% increase. By contrast, the Hang Seng Index declined 6% in the same timeframe.
Both Zhipu and Minimax completed new equity placements following the expiration of their initial post-IPO lock-up periods on July 8 and July 9, respectively. Macquarie said those capital raises are intended to address near-term funding requirements for compute infrastructure investments necessary to support rising usage of their models.
Minimax’s ARR trajectory was also highlighted. The company grew ARR from $100 million in December 2025 to $400 million in April 2026, and Macquarie says Minimax remains on track to reach $1.0 billion in ARR by year-end. That pace represents a tenfold expansion over a 12-month span.
On the product and strategy side, Zhipu AI founder Dr. Tang presented a "Touch-High Plan" on Friday. The plan concentrates on long-horizon reasoning, autonomous agents, self-training architectures, and AI safety governance as priority areas for development.
Given the competitive dynamics in China’s AI model sector, Macquarie recommended investors consider a basket approach to maintain exposure while managing company-specific risk as competition evolves.
Sectors impacted include cloud and data-center operators and providers of compute infrastructure, along with capital markets activity connected to AI-focused technology issuers.