China’s Z.ai raises revenue target 25% after US$5 billion cash injection

Chinese artificial intelligence developer Z.ai has raised its year-end annual recurring revenue (ARR) outlook by 25 per cent to US$3 billion, as the firm indicated its fresh US$5 billion war chest had helped clear its computing capacity bottlenecks for the time being.

The updated ARR projection, up from a previous estimate of about US$2.4 billion, was disclosed during an investor call on Wednesday, according to a transcript seen by the South China Morning Post.

The revised guidance comes days after Z.ai, also known as Zhipu AI, announced it had raised US$5 billion through a share placement and convertible bond sale. The firm will use the funds to expand its computing power to support the training of new models and meet a surge in demand for its AI services.

Z.ai’s ARR – a key metric projecting a firm’s monthly subscription income over a 12-month period – had reached US$1.8 billion so far this year, executives said during the call. “In the short term, computing power supply is no longer the primary constraint on the company’s rapid revenue growth,” they added.