Macquarie Lifts Zhipu AI Revenue Targets to $4.5 Billion by 2027 on Coding Prowess

Macquarie has substantially raised its revenue forecasts for Zhipu AI, citing the company's superior code generation technology and rapid customer adoption. The investment bank's report follows Zhipu's annual recurring revenue (ARR) crossing the $1 billion threshold in July, well ahead of its full-year target.

Upgraded Forecasts

In a note to clients, Macquarie lifted its ARR target for Zhipu AI to $2 billion for 2026 and $4.5 billion for 2027. The bank attributed the upward revision to the company’s leading position in AI-powered code generation, a capability that has accelerated development cycles and driven broader adoption of its GLM 5-2 model.

Zhipu's commercial success has been reflected in its stock performance, which has gained an extraordinary 1,316% year-to-date. This far outpaces the 35% rise for competitor Minimax and a 6% decline in the benchmark Hang Seng Index over the same period, according to the report.

Fresh Capital for Infrastructure

To support this rapid expansion, both Zhipu and Minimax recently completed new equity placements. The fundraising occurred just after their respective post-IPO lock-up periods expired on July 8 and July 9.

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Macquarie stated that the additional capital addresses the companies' near-term needs for significant investments in compute infrastructure required to support growing usage and model development.

Competitive Landscape

The Chinese AI sector remains highly competitive. Zhipu's rival, Minimax, has also shown impressive growth, with its ARR expanding from $100 million in December 2025 to $400 million by April 2026. Minimax remains on track to achieve $1 billion in ARR by the end of the year, representing 10-fold growth in 12 months.

Looking ahead, Zhipu founder Dr. Tang outlined the company's "Touch-High Plan," which focuses on developing advanced capabilities like autonomous agents and self-training architectures. Given the dynamic market, Macquarie recommended a "basket strategy" for investors to reduce risk while maintaining exposure to the high-growth potential of China’s AI model sector.