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China's hottest AI startup, Moonshot AI, is racing toward a Hong Kong IPO after its Kimi K3 model shook global tech markets. With a valuation that has tripled in months and revenue surging, Moonshot wants to capitalize on the momentum, and Bybit's MOONSHOT USDT Pre-Market Perpetual contract lets traders take a position before the listing goes live.
Key Takeaways:
Moonshot AI's Kimi K3 is the world's largest open-weight AI model, ranking #1 in coding benchmarks globally while matching top US models at a fraction of the cost.
The company's valuation soared from $10 billion to $35 billion in just five months, with annual recurring revenue hitting $300 million as of June 2026.
Moonshot is reportedly filing for a Hong Kong IPO as early as August 2026, targeting a $3 billion raise, though intense competition from 988 Chinese LLMs and US chip restrictions pose real risks.
Moonshot AI makes Kimi, a ChatGPT-style AI chatbot, and its latest model, Kimi K3, is a big deal. Released in July 2026, it's the world's largest open-weight AI model. Anyone can download and run it for free.
Moonshot's latest Kimi model ranked #1 in coding benchmarks globally and matches the performance of OpenAI and Anthropic's best models at a fraction of the cost.
Kimi K3's launch in July triggered a global tech selloff similar to the "DeepSeek moment" in early 2025, because it showed China was closing the AI gap faster than Wall Street expected.
Since launching its Kimi K3 model, Moonshot's daily sales have reportedly surged at least 6 times!
Moonshot AI already has annual recurring revenue (a measure of future sales) of US$ 300 million as of June 2026, 50% higher than the US$ 200 million in annual recurring revenue achieved just 2 months prior (April 2026).It's clear that Moonshot is already raking in cash, and wants to seize the momentum by tapping capital markets.
Moonshot's valuation has rocketed from $10 billion in February to $35 billion by late July, after raising $3.5 billion, far more than the $1–2 billion it originally targeted. Backers include Alibaba, Tencent, Meituan and China's state AI investment fund.
There are also reports that Moonshot may look for one final fundraising round, which could value the company around US$ 50 billion before eventually going for the IPO.
Moonshot is reportedly planning to file confidentially for a Hong Kong IPO as early as August 2026, targeting a raise of around $3 billion.The actual listing may only happen in late 2026 or early 2027, given that Moonshot has a 6-month window for the IPO.However, Moonshot recently disputed some specific filing reports as inaccurate, so the IPO's timing could shift.
China's AI market is intensely competitive. China has 988 competing large language models as of June 2026!Despite the headline-grabbing launch by Moonshot AI, the chatbots out of DeepSeek and ByteDance remain dominant, while tech giants like Alibaba (also Moonshot's biggest investor) and Tencent have deep pockets. Smaller peers like Zhipu and MiniMax are fighting for the same users, with the former shares dropping as much as 20% in late July when Kimi K3 went public, a sign of how brutal the competition is.
US restrictions on AI chips. Bloomberg recently reported that Moonshot has a deal with Alibaba to use about 20,000 Nvidia's Hopper chips.For years, the US has restricted China's access to advanced Nvidia chips, though Chinese companies have found ways to access similar computing power by renting it through overseas cloud providers. This practice sits in a legal grey area and is increasingly drawing scrutiny from Washington. Still, a stronger hand from the Trump administration could curtail Moonshot's hardware needs for its Kimi models.
You can trade Moonshot as a Pre-Market Perpetual contract, a USDT-settled contract that lets you trade a token's perpetual before it officially lists on Bybit Derivatives.
Fund your Unified Trading Account (UTA) with USDT.
Search for the MOONSHOTUSDT ticker in the Trade → Futures → Pre tab.
If the contract is in Call Auction mode, tap Auction Now and place a limit order at your desired price. If it's in Continuous Auction mode, all order types are supported. Trade as you would a standard perpetual contract.
Adjust your leverage settings according to your personal risk management strategy.
Input your order details, then click on Long or Short to execute your trade.
How to cancel your order
Orders can be canceled within 20 minutes after the call auction starts, or during the Continuous Auction phase. Go to your Current Orders tab and click Cancel.
Moonshot's rapid rise shows that China's AI race is far from settled. The MOONSHOTUSDT Pre-Market Perpetual contract gives traders a way to act on the momentum now, but with 988 competing LLMs and geopolitical headwinds, position sizing and risk management matter.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for general information and reflects the author's views only. It does not constitute investment advice, nor an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instruments or digital assets. Your ability to access or use any products or services mentioned may be subject to the laws and regulatory requirements of your jurisdiction. |
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