MiniMax Group founder Yan Junjie has suffered a $9.3 billion wealth wipeout as the Hong Kong-listed AI model developer shed $39 billion in market value since its March peak. The mogul may have more to lose, as the imminent expiration of lockup periods on Wednesday puts more selling pressure on a firm that is now struggling to keep pace in the AI race.

The 37-year-old chairman and CEO has seen his net worth shrink to $3.3 billion from a peak of $12.6 billion, according to Forbes estimates. Following the company’s blockbuster $619 million initial public offering in January, its shares have plunged over 70% since reaching a record HK$1,330 ($170) apiece in March.

The stock is still up 1.6% so far this year, but many investors are reversing their bullish bets as disappointment with the company’s progress mounts. The new AI models from MiniMax show improvements in abilities including coding and executing complex agentic tasks like financial analysis, but the market has come to believe rival Hong Kong-listed competitor Zhipu (Z.AI) is leading the pack.

“The market is pessimistic on MiniMax because the company is now at a disadvantage domestically,” says Charlie Chai, a Shanghai-based analyst at research firm 86Research. “When compared with the best models globally, Zhipu has been making progress in closing the gap, while MiniMax seems to be stagnating.”

The company didn’t respond to a request for........

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