Moonshot executives seek settlement before Hong Kong IPO

Moonshot AI executives are discussing a settlement with Recurrent.ai and some of its investors ahead of Moonshot's planned Hong Kong IPO, according to Reuters. The dispute concerns allegations that Moonshot CEO Yang Zhilin and technology chief Zhang Yutao diverted technology and business from Recurrent, which they cofounded in 2016.

The dispute has been in arbitration in Hong Kong since 2024. Recurrent alleges that Yang and Zhang established Moonshot without its board's approval, misled investors, and transferred servers containing large language model data to a Moonshot subsidiary without authorization. Reuters could not independently verify the claims, which Yang has previously denied.

Recurrent and its investors are seeking compensation equal to 10.5% of Moonshot's original shares. One person familiar with the matter estimated that the claim could exceed $700 million based on Moonshot's $30 billion valuation in a June funding round. The parties did not indicate whether a settlement was imminent.