Baker McKenzie has acted as the special legal counsel to the sole placing agent in the HKD31.41 billion (approximately USD 4 billion) placement of new H shares by Zhipu AI.
Zhipu AI, operating under the Z.ai brand, is a leading artificial intelligence company and one of China's pioneers in foundation model development. The company provides advanced AI solutions and services across a broad range of industries and applications.
This transaction represents a landmark financing for the artificial intelligence sector. It is the world's first equity follow-on offering by a standalone large language model (LLM) company, the largest equity capital markets financings by a Chapter 18C-listed company in Hong Kong, and one of the largest technology and AI fundraising transactions in Hong Kong to date in 2026.
Baker McKenzie advised as Hong Kong and U.S. legal counsel to the sole sponsor and underwriters on Zhipu AI's Hong Kong initial public offering and listing on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in January 2026, which raised more than HKD 4.3 billion (approximately USD 560 million) and was one of the first landmark listings under Hong Kong's Chapter 18C regime.
Dan Ouyang, Partner and Co-Chair of Baker McKenzie's Asia Pacific and China Capital Markets Practices who led this transaction, commented: " We are proud to have advised on both Zhipu AI's IPO and this significant follow-on offering, it highlights our ability to support leading innovators at every stage of their growth journey. With our deep capital markets, technology and cross-border capabilities, we remain well positioned to help AI and technology companies access global capital and navigate increasingly complex regulatory environments."
The other Baker McKenzie team included Partner Winfield Lau and Associate Robin Liu.