MiniMax’s CEO won’t take a salary until AGI. His company just raised $2bn after an 80% crash
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MiniMax's founder Yan Junjie has vowed to forgo his salary until the company reaches AGI, and to give away 5% of his shares.
July 10, 2026 - 1:41 pm
The letter, shared internally and later on X, reads like a founder’s article of faith. It outlines Yan Junjie's commitment to not taking a salary until MiniMax achieves Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Alongside this pledge, the company is raising up to $2bn from investors, following an 80% stock slump.
“Effective today, and until the day we achieve AGI, I will no longer accept any salary from the company,” wrote Yan, internally known as "IO". He further promised to distribute shares worth 4% of his personal holdings to staff over four years and allocate 1% to a fund for open-source projects. “We will keep going until we get there.”
The Gesture and the Ledger
While symbolic, Yan's salary forgiveness is largely a gesture. Founders' wealth is tied up in equity, not salary. Giving away 5% of his stake is a significant commitment, serving as both a retention tool during a period of talent poaching and an expression of faith in the company’s future.
The timing coincides with a large, discounted fundraising round – a move aimed at reassuring employees amidst falling share prices.
The Raise: Numbers and Reality
MiniMax is offering 35.6 million new shares at HK$268 each ($1.2bn), a nearly 10% discount to Thursday’s close, according to Bloomberg. They are also issuing $6.5 billion Hong Kong dollars of zero-coupon convertible bonds due 2027. Morgan Stanley and UBS are leading the deal.
The stock dropped approximately 10% on Friday. The new shares dilute a float that had just expanded after early backers’ lockups expired, leaving some retail investors feeling burned.
Why the Stock Cratered
MiniMax listed in Hong Kong in January and aimed for a second listing in Shanghai. However, their flagship M3 model struggled to gain traction upon its release in June, leading to price cuts just a week later. Competitors like Zhipu, DeepSeek, and Moonshot AI quickly filled the void, intensifying competition in the market already gripped by a brutal price war.
Why it Matters
This fundraising is not an isolation incident. Chinese tech firms are flooding the market with AI investment. Zhipu secured $4bn this week, one of the largest such rounds in Hong Kong.
As of 2026, the tech industry is witnessing a significant shift in founder compensation structures. MiniMax's CEO Yan Junjie's decision to forgo his salary until Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is achieved, coupled with his plan to distribute shares and support open-source projects, sets a new standard for corporate governance. This approach not only aligns executive incentives with long-term company success but also fosters a culture of collective ownership among employees, despite the recent stock crash. The fundraising round, while discounted, reflects investor confidence in MiniMax's potential, especially within the competitive Chinese AI market. Read the full article here