Chinese artificial intelligence startup Moonshot is in talks to settle a long-running shareholder dispute ahead of its planned Hong Kong initial public offering (IPO), according to people familiar with the matter.
Recurrent.ai and some of its investors have accused Moonshot CEO Yang Zhilin and Chief Technology Officer Zhang Yutao of misleading investors and benefiting financially at Recurrent’s expense. The allegations include claims that Moonshot was established without proper authorisation and that valuable AI-related data was transferred without approval.
The dispute has been under arbitration in Hong Kong since 2024. Yang has previously denied the allegations, while Moonshot has declined to comment. Reuters said it could not independently verify the claims made in a letter from Recurrent’s lawyers.
Moonshot, which develops the Kimi AI models and counts Alibaba, Tencent and Meituan among its backers, has confidentially filed for a Hong Kong IPO. Although the dispute is not expected to derail the planned listing, unresolved questions about ownership and corporate governance could complicate the process and raise concerns among prospective investors.
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