OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra on Thursday as its most capable model for difficult end-to-end work. Chinese AI stocks nevertheless moved higher, not lower.
MiniMax jumped 6.5% to HK$378 on Friday, while Baidu gained 4.6%. Kuaishou rose 4.2%, JD.com added 4.1% and Xiaomi advanced 3.9% as broader Hong Kong stocks strengthened.
The reaction looks counterintuitive. Astra raises the competitive bar for Chinese developers, but it also reinforces a bullish idea that autonomous AI agents may become a larger commercial market over time.
Astra is raising the stakes and expanding the prize
OpenAI says Astra improves on computer use, coding, research, browsing and complex multi-step professional work.
The model has a 1.05-million-token context window and can operate across software environments, pushing generative AI beyond chatbots towards systems that complete entire workflows.
Huatai Securities said in commentary reported by GMT Eight that foundation-model competition is moving towards “commercialization driven by high-value scenarios, enterprise markets, and usage volume.”
The brokerage said MiniMax and Zhipu are concentrating on APIs, coding and agents.
Astra therefore cuts both ways for Chinese rivals. It makes OpenAI a formidable competitor, but it also validates the category they are trying to monetise.
Investors appear less focused on whether a Chinese model can top OpenAI on every benchmark and more interested in whether companies can turn agent capabilities into recurring enterprise usage.
MiniMax already has what investors want to see: revenue
MiniMax’s rally is not based on model speculation.
The company reported first-half revenue of $116.6 million, up 283.1% from a year earlier. Revenue from its Open Platform and other AI-based enterprise services surged 703.1% to $73.9 million, reflecting higher API volumes and enterprise adoption.
Citi analyst Alicia Yap maintained a Buy rating after the results and raised her MiniMax target to HK$576 from HK$533, according to TipRanks.
Jefferies analyst Thomas Chong also kept a Buy rating and lifted his target to HK$533 from HK$506.
Those calls help explain why Astra can be interpreted as good news as well as a threat.
Every improvement in autonomous agents expands the range of tasks companies may pay AI providers to perform.
If that drives higher API consumption, MiniMax does not need to beat OpenAI globally to benefit from a larger market.
Baidu shows why the rally is not just model hype
Baidu offers a different version of the same investment case.
Its traditional online marketing business remains under pressure, but AI is becoming a larger part of the company.
Second-quarter AI Cloud Infrastructure revenue rose 50% to 7.3 billion yuan, while GPU Cloud revenue jumped 283%.
Bank of America analyst Miranda Zhuang kept a Buy rating after the quarter while lowering her target to $141 from $165.
Susquehanna cut its target to $105 from $140 and retained a Neutral rating, saying “momentum remains strong” across Baidu’s AI businesses, particularly AI Cloud Infrastructure and GPU Cloud, but legacy advertising weakness continues to weigh on overall growth.
That is an important restraint on Friday’s enthusiasm. Astra may strengthen the investment case for agents, but it does not erase company-specific problems.
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