FT: Dark Side of the Moon is restructuring the equity structure and introducing state-owned shareholders to obtain regulatory approval to go public in Hong Kong
Comparatively, according to the Financial Times, the Chinese AI startup Moonshot AI (Moonshot AI) is adjusting its corporate structure and bringing in a number of investors with a state-owned background to obtain approval from the regulatory authorities to go public in Hong Kong. The Kimi K3 model under Dark Side of the Moon recently closed the performance gap with Anthropic's leading model and was welcomed by developers. The company plans to raise capital through an initial public offering (IPO) for the next phase of large-scale model development and business expansion. Prior to listing, Dark Side of the Moon may require dismantling the existing red-chip structure. Since its core business was previously controlled by overseas entities and raised in US dollars through overseas investors, the Chinese regulatory authorities imposed restrictions on the overseas listing of some technology companies with overseas structures, causing many AI companies, including Dark Side of the Moon and StepFun (StepFun), to suspend IPO preparations. According to reports, Dark Side of the Moon changed the entity in China from a limited liability company to a limited liability company last week, which is an important step in advancing its listing. The company is currently coordinating with investment banks and a team of lawyers to resolve the issue of overseas investors' shareholding transfers. An investor revealed that The Dark Side of the Moon has recently been notified to shareholders, that the restructuring of overseas entities is still being promoted, and it has not yet been decided how to transfer the rights and interests of overseas shareholders to domestic entities. Possible solutions include overseas investors setting up shares held by domestic investors, or selling overseas shares first and then re-subscribing for domestic shares, but they all involve a lengthy approval process. In terms of financing, Dark Side of the Moon recently completed two rounds of financing. One round was valued at around US$30 billion, and the valuation is expected to reach US$50 billion after completion. The company previously attracted state-owned institutions such as the National Artificial Intelligence Industry Investment Fund to participate in the investment. The latest shareholder list also includes investors under the National Social Security Fund, Shanghai and Guizhou Local Government Guidance Funds, and People's Daily. On August 3, earlier market news stated that the Dark Side of the Moon plans to submit an IPO application in Hong Kong as early as this month, or raise about 3 billion US dollars. In response, Dark Side of the Moon responded that the news was untrue.


