The Shanghai Stock Exchange said on June 18 that unprofitable large language model developers can apply to list on the Star Market.

To qualify, companies must be expected to reach a market value of at least 4 billion yuan (US$591 million), operate at least one LLM product at scale, and have clear commercialization plans.

The move builds on the Star Market’s role as a board for hard-tech companies that has already admitted unprofitable issuers, including through a Science and Technology Innovation Growth Tier for lossmaking tech companies.

The exchange said the board will support AI and other strategic sectors through more flexible listing standards.

On June 17, it also amended related Star Market rules for quantum technology, biomedicine, hydrogen, nuclear fusion, brain-computer interfaces, robotics, and sixth-generation mobile communications (6G).

The change could widen financing options for Chinese AI startups such as Zhipu AI and MiniMax, which have been preparing for mainland listings, as leading Chinese model developers have reported much lower revenue than top US peers.

🔗 Source: South China Morning Post