(FILES) Shanghai-based AI startup MiniMax's CEO Yan Junjie, a former executive at the Chinese leading AI software company SenseTime which was blacklisted by the US Commerce Department in 2021, attends the company's listing ceremony at the Hong Kong stock exchange on January 9, 2026. Investor confidence in Chinese AI startups is riding high, but obstacles to their long-term success range from US export controls to the puzzle of how to become profitable. (Photo by Tommy WANG / AFP via Getty Images)