Chinese AI model developer Knowledge Atlas Technology had a lukewarm market debut when it listed in Hong Kong in January. However, as the company, better known as Zhipu, demonstrates steady technological progress, its shares have soared nearly 1,000% this year, leading Chairman Liu Debing to amass a fortune of $22.4 billion amid the blistering rally.

The 50-year-old mogul is now the richest billionaire minted by China’s recent AI boom, following a wave of initial public offerings that generated immense wealth. Overall, he is the 15th richest man in the country, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List. Zhipu’s chief scientist Tang Jie, who is a professor of computer science at the country’s Tsinghua University, is also a billionaire with a net worth of $5 billion based on his own stake, according to Forbes estimates. A company spokesperson declined to comment on their respective net worth.

Investors are piling into Zhipu because they believe it has gone from “too small, too marginal a player” to a “real tech champion,” says Charlie Chai, a Shanghai-based analyst at research firm 86Research. The Beijing-based company........

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