Moonshot AI (Kimi) in settlement talks ahead of IPO, old case claims may exceed $700 million

动察 Beating AI News Flash: Reuters exclusively reports that Moonshot AI executives are in settlement talks with former company Recurrent.ai and its investors, hoping to resolve a nearly two-year arbitration dispute before a Hong Kong IPO. It remains unclear whether the two sides can reach an agreement.

The dispute involves Moonshot AI founder Yang Zhilin and CTO Zhang Yutao. They co-founded Recurrent.ai in 2016. According to a lawyer's letter seen by Reuters, Recurrent.ai and some investors allege that the two founded Moonshot AI without board authorization and provided false information to the original company's investors. The lawyer's letter also alleges that servers containing key large-model data were transferred without authorization, and some data was deleted. The shareholding arrangement of Moonshot AI President Zhang Yutong has also been questioned. Reuters was unable to independently verify these allegations. Yang Zhilin previously said the startup had obtained the necessary approvals, and his attorney also said the case lacks factual and legal basis.

When Moonshot AI was founded, Recurrent.ai was allocated 9.5% initial equity. Now, Recurrent.ai and some investors are demanding compensation equivalent to 10.5% of Moonshot AI's initial share capital. Based on Moonshot AI's $30 billion valuation during its June financing this year, people familiar with the matter estimate the potential value could exceed $700 million. Moonshot AI has confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO. People familiar with the matter believe the dispute will not directly block the listing for now, but if it remains unresolved for a long time, equity ownership and information disclosure could still become obstacles.