Alibaba, Meituan, and Tencent have collectively realized estimated paper gains exceeding RMB 100 billion from their investments in these three AI companies—making substantial returns on their investments, yet still paling in comparison to the market value they’ve lost overall. Yet their approaches to investing in AI are vastly different. Meituan invested the least but reaped the highest returns; Alibaba cast the widest net, with a significant portion of its investment made through computing power; Tencent sits in the middle. 1. First, Zhipu AI: Meituan’s 45x return dominates the field Zhipu’s current market cap is approximately RMB 350 billion (HKEX: 02513; its share price briefly surpassed HKD 1,000 in early May, pushing total market cap above HKD 400 billion). Zhipu’s GLM-5.1 has risen to rank among the top three global large models, with its coding packages selling out daily. Meituan was the earliest investor. In March 2023, during the B2 round, it invested RMB 300 million directly, valuing Zhipu at RMB 3.2 billion and securing over 10% equity. Meituan made no further investments afterward. After subsequent funding rounds and IPO dilution, Meituan’s stake is now 3.91%, worth RMB 13.7 billion—turning RMB 300 million into RMB 13.7 billion, netting a profit of RMB 13.4 billion, a 45x return. This figure ranks among the highest in China’s private equity market. Tencent entered later—only in August 2024 during the B4 round—investing RMB 200 million at a post-money valuation of RMB 7.2 billion, securing a 2.7% stake. After dilution, Tencent holds 1.58%, valued at RMB 5.5 billion, yielding a 27x return. Still impressive, but over a year later than Meituan, its return is nearly halved. Alibaba’s path was the most convoluted. Ant Group’s subsidiary, Shanghai Yunya, invested RMB 150 million in Zhipu’s B3 round to subscribe to RMB 667,000 in registered capital. Post-IPO, it holds a 1.54% stake valued at RMB 5.4 billion—a 33x return. Alibaba itself isn’t far behind; combined with Shanghai Feiya (another Ant subsidiary), Ant Group holds a total of 3.66% in Zhipu, valued at RMB 12.8 billion, with a total cost of RMB 490 million (after deducting RMB 110 million transferred to Alibaba), yielding a 25x return. Altogether, Alibaba Group and Ant Group hold a combined 5.2% stake in Zhipu, with paper gains of approximately RMB 17.5 billion. 2. MiniMax: Alibaba leads, Tencent follows, Meituan sits out Alibaba made a major bet on MiniMax, holding a 12.52% stake via Alisoft—worth approximately USD 3.7 billion at current valuation. Alibaba participated in both the B round and cornerstone round; although exact funding amounts weren’t disclosed, estimates suggest an investment cost of around USD 600 million, resulting in a ~5.2x return and USD 3.1 billion (RMB 21 billion) in profits. Tencent holds 2.37%, valued at approximately USD 700 million. It entered slightly earlier than Alibaba; assuming a cost of roughly USD 100 million, its return is around 6x. While its absolute profit is smaller than Alibaba’s, its cost efficiency is superior, resulting in a higher multiple. Meituan did not invest in MiniMax. 3. Kimi: Alibaba may be the biggest winner; Meituan also made a major bet Yueji Anmian (Moonshot AI) has not yet gone public and recently completed a USD 2 billion funding round, pushing its post-money valuation beyond USD 20 billion (~RMB 140 billion). Meituan’s Longzhu led this round. Alibaba was Kimi’s most important early financial investor. In 2024, it acquired approximately 36% equity for USD 800 million—partially settled via Alibaba Cloud computing power, with cash outlay around USD 600 million. In February 2026, it participated in another USD 700 million financing round; exact amounts were undisclosed. At current valuation, Alibaba’s 36% stake is worth USD 7.2 billion—a paper return of ~9x. However, this assumes Alibaba hasn’t been significantly diluted in subsequent rounds and that the USD 20 billion valuation holds firm—both conditions remain uncertain. Tencent participated in a USD 300 million financing round in August 2024 at a USD 3.3 billion valuation and co-led the USD 700 million round in February 2026—but disclosed investment amounts were unavailable for precise calculation of unrealized gains. Given Tencent’s typical strategy, it likely acted as a follower rather than a lead investor. Meituan’s involvement came in two parts: Wang Huiwen personally invested approximately USD 70 million (~RMB 490 million), yielding ~5x returns at current valuation—this early bet paid off well. Meanwhile, Meituan Longzhu led the recent USD 2 billion round with an investment exceeding USD 200 million; since valuation rose little after investment, no paper gains have materialized yet. A few interesting observations: 1. Meituan’s return multiples dominate: RMB 300 million invested → RMB 13.4 billion profit → 45x return. Simple reason: entered early (B2 round) and held tightly. 2. Alibaba invested in all three: Zhipu, MiniMax, and Kimi—with the largest total paper gains and substantial investments in each, including significant portions paid via computing power. 3. Tencent’s approach is most balanced: Zhipu (27x), MiniMax (6x), average return ~11x; Kimi estimated at ~6x. 4. Kimi may be Alibaba’s single largest return source: its 36% stake valued at USD 20 billion equals USD 7.2 billion; if IPO pricing exceeds this, the gain could grow further. The stock prices of these three AI companies have been highly volatile: Zhipu rose from HKD 131 at IPO to over HKD 840; MiniMax climbed from HKD 165 to over HKD 1,200—but corrections have also been sharp. All these paper gains remain unrealized until actual liquidity events occur. One more point worth noting: these three tech giants didn’t invest in AI purely for financial returns. Alibaba seeks cloud computing customers; Tencent aims to secure ecosystem positioning; Meituan seeks technological moats. Each has distinct strategic goals—but all share the same underlying motive: avoiding obsolescence.