Zhipu Apologizes for GLM-5 Launch Issues and Announces Compensation Plan

Zhipu’s Apology for GLM-5 Launch Issues

Zhipu (02513.HK), valued at over HKD 320 billion, publicly apologized on February 21 for issues related to the GLM Coding Plan and announced a compensation scheme. The company acknowledged three main mistakes: insufficient transparency in rules, slow rollout of the GLM-5 model, and poorly designed upgrade mechanisms for existing users.

The announcement detailed that after the release of GLM-5, traffic exceeded expectations, and the company’s expansion pace could not keep up. As a result, GLM-5 will be gradually opened in the order of Max, Pro, and Lite. Currently, Max users have full access, while Pro users may experience throttling during peak times due to high cluster loads. Lite users will gradually gain access during off-peak times after the holiday. The company supports refund applications for affected Lite and Pro users.

“In the future, any adjustments involving core user rights will be communicated in advance with options, ensuring users are not forced to accept changes passively,” Zhipu stated.

On February 12, Zhipu officially launched and open-sourced its flagship model, GLM-5. As the first public company for large models, Zhipu saw a significant market reaction, with its stock price soaring 28.68% on the launch day, reaching a record high and a market cap of HKD 179.2 billion, an increase of HKD 40 billion from the previous day.

According to Zhipu, the new GLM-5 foundation has expanded from 355 billion parameters (activated 32 billion) to 744 billion (activated 40 billion), and the pre-training data has increased from 23 terabytes to 28.5 terabytes, significantly enhancing the model’s general intelligence level.

In programming capabilities, GLM-5 aligns with Claude Opus 4.5, achieving state-of-the-art scores in mainstream benchmark tests. It scored 77.8 and 56.2 in SWE-bench-Verified and Terminal Bench 2.0, respectively, outperforming Gemini 3 Pro.

Zhipu representatives indicated that this year, large models will evolve from “writing” to “performing tasks,” particularly in completing large-scale tasks end-to-end. GLM-5 is likened to a “system architect,” providing greater imaginative space for the AI industry’s development.

As of February 20, Zhipu’s stock price surged over 42%, closing at HKD 725, with a market cap exceeding HKD 320 billion. According to Wind data, Zhipu’s stock has risen 128% in just five days.

As an emerging AI unicorn, Zhipu’s market cap has surpassed that of established internet giant Kuaishou (HKD 289.4 billion) and is nearing JD.com (HKD 330.9 billion), just about a month after its listing.

Another AI unicorn, MiniMax, also performed well, closing up over 14% at HKD 970, with a market cap surpassing HKD 300 billion. Since its listing, MiniMax has accumulated an increase of over 480%.

Regarding listing dates, Zhipu went public on January 8, 2026, with an issue price of HKD 116.20 per share, while MiniMax listed on January 9 at HKD 165 per share. Thus, both AI companies have seen remarkable growth in the capital market: Zhipu’s cumulative increase has exceeded 520%, while MiniMax’s has surpassed 480%.

In addition to these leading companies, many AI firms are also being pursued in the capital market. On January 20, it was reported that the large model company Kimi was undergoing a new round of financing, with a pre-financing valuation close to USD 4.8 billion. In late December 2025, Kimi had just announced the completion of a USD 500 million Series C financing, with a post-financing valuation of USD 4.3 billion.

Notably, on February 17, just over a month after completing the previous USD 500 million financing, Kimi was reported to be nearing completion of a new round of over USD 700 million financing, again exceeding expectations, led by old investors such as Alibaba, Tencent, Wuyuan, and Jiua.

Several major AI companies have also released their performance results during the Spring Festival period, showcasing notable achievements. On February 18, Tencent disclosed that its cash red envelope activity, distributing 1 billion yuan, had concluded, with daily active users (DAU) exceeding 50 million and monthly active users (MAU) reaching 114 million.

The activity report indicated that the main venue for the red envelope event had seen over 3.6 billion lottery draws, with users completing AI tasks through the “creation” section over 1 billion times. Additionally, a new plan was revealed: on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, users chatting in the Yuanbao app would randomly receive red envelopes.

On February 16, Doubao, the AI assistant under ByteDance, collaborated with CCTV’s Spring Festival Gala, revealing that on New Year’s Eve, the total number of AI interactions reached 1.9 billion. AI-generated images and New Year greetings attracted user participation. Data showed that the “Doubao New Year” event helped users generate over 50 million New Year-themed avatars and over 100 million New Year greetings.

On February 17, Alibaba’s Qianwen app reported that during the Spring Festival activities, over 130 million users engaged in activities such as ordering milk tea, stocking up on New Year goods, buying movie tickets, and booking flights and hotels. After the second wave of the invitation activity began on February 14, orders for movie tickets purchased through AI on Qianwen increased by 372 times, with orders from third- and fourth-tier cities growing by 782 times, with “Silent Awakening” becoming the top choice.