MiniMax founder gives up salary until AGI is achieved

14:20 / 11.07.2026·46·Technology

Yan Junjie, head of MiniMax, one of China's most promising AI startups, has made an unexpected decision. With the company's share value having dropped by 80 percent, he has decided to forgo his salary until Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is achieved. This was reported by the South China Morning Post. This is reported by reported by.

In an internal letter to company employees, Yan Junjie stated: "Starting today, until the day AGI is created, I will not take a salary from the company." For context, AGI is a system capable of performing intellectual tasks at a human level. Currently, the world's leading companies, including OpenAI and Google, are working on this very technology.

Furthermore, the MiniMax leader promised to transfer a portion of his own shares to employees. According to the plan, over the next four years, 4 percent of the company's equity will be used to incentivize workers, and another 1 percent will be directed to a fund supporting open-source projects.

Financial crisis and investment issues

MiniMax is currently going through a difficult financial period. Although the company planned to raise up to $2 billion in investment, its shares have lost nearly 80 percent of their value since March. The price of newly issued shares is being offered 10 percent lower than the market value, which is leading to the dilution of existing shareholders' stakes.

The company's flagship product, the M3 model, was introduced in June, but it did not gain the expected popularity among developers. As a result, MiniMax was forced to cut the usage price of its model by half. This move was interpreted as a sign that the company's business model is under serious pressure in the market.

The Chinese generative AI market has currently become a field of fierce price competition. MiniMax's competitors, such as Zhipu AI, DeepSeek, and Moonshot AI, are strengthening their positions. For instance, Zhipu recently raised $4 billion in investment, demonstrating its market leadership.

Experts believe that the main task for MiniMax is to direct the raised funds toward developing new, competitive models. Yan Junjie's decision to forgo his salary could be a symbolic step aimed at uniting the team toward a common goal and restoring investor confidence.