MiniMax vs Thinking Machines Lab

HUMAIN and MiniMax Launch humain-m3 Arabic AI Research Preview

HUMAIN, a Saudi PIF company, announced at LEAP 2026 the launch of humain-m3, a frontier Arabic language model commissioned by HUMAIN and delivered by MiniMax. The 428-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model was further pre-trained on more than one trillion tokens of Arabic-native content. In evaluations across seven public Arabic benchmarks, humain-m3 achieved the highest average performance among frontier models tested. The model is available immediately in research preview through HUMAIN Node, HUMAIN's platform offering developers, researchers and enterprises access to advanced AI models and inference capabilities. An open-weight release under the MiniMax Community License is targeted for next month, following completion of safety training and alignment. The launch is part of HUMAIN's strategy to strengthen Arabic AI development and expand access to frontier intelligence.

• HUMAIN unveiled Arabic language model humain-m3 at LEAP 2026, developed by MiniMax.
• humain-m3 is a 428-billion-parameter mixture-of-experts model pre-trained on over one trillion Arabic-native tokens.
• humain-m3 achieved the highest average performance across seven public Arabic benchmarks among frontier models evaluated.

MiniMax H1 2026 Earnings: Revenue Soars, Losses Widen

MiniMax, a Shanghai-based AI company listed in Hong Kong, reported strong first-half 2026 results: revenue for the six months to June 30 was $116.6m, up 283.1% year‑on‑year, and management said ARR passed $800m in August. Token consumption reportedly ran 20x January levels and enterprise/open-platform sales grew rapidly. Despite revenue growth and improving gross margin (17.9% vs 12.1% a year earlier), adjusted net loss more than doubled to $293m and R&D spending rose 138.8% to $296.9m. The balance sheet shows cash and equivalents of $930.9m (broader cash balance $1.32bn) and a July financing round including a convertible bond that raised about HK$16bn. The results highlight rapid demand and heavy infrastructure and R&D spending as MiniMax scales.

• MiniMax reported H1 2026 revenue of $116.6m for the six months to June 30, up 283.1% year‑on‑year.
• Management stated ARR exceeded $800m in August, up from $150m in February; token consumption in July ran at 20x January’s level.
• Adjusted net loss more than doubled to $293m; IFRS net loss narrowed 11% to $358m due to a prior fair-value accounting charge.

Framework Index: 20 Frameworks for Reading China Tech

Hello China Tech published 'The Framework Index', a living index of 20 named frameworks grouped into five categories to help interpret China’s technology sector (AI, semiconductors, robotics, EVs). Each framework condenses mechanisms observed in China’s system, explains when to apply it, and links to underlying analyses. The index is updated roughly every two months and includes a full example entry on the 'Scarcity Trap', referencing Zhipu’s 8.5% float, July unlock-week declines for Zhipu and MiniMax, and planned CXMT unlocks in January and July 2027. The index is positioned as a reference for subscribers and links to related Hello China Tech pieces and the free China Tech Field Guide.

• Hello China Tech published 'The Framework Index' listing 20 frameworks for reading China tech, grouped into five categories.
• The index is updated roughly every two months and entries are revised as new evidence emerges.
• The published example entry ('Scarcity Trap') cites Zhipu’s 8.5% float and states that Zhipu and MiniMax fell in July’s unlock week and subsequently placed more than HK$40bn combined.

Putting Task Expertise into RL Achieves State-of-the-Art Performance on Text-to-SQL

Thinking Machines Lab announced two new updates: a research breakthrough in RL for text-to-SQL and new safety research grants.

Barret Zoph Joins Google as VP of Research

Barret Zoph, co‑founder of AI startup Thinking Machines Lab and a former OpenAI employee, has taken a role as vice president of research at Google. Zoph previously co‑founded Thinking Machines with Mira Murati after leaving OpenAI in October 2024, briefly returned to OpenAI in January 2026 to lead AI enterprise sales, and departed in June 2026 after a five‑month stint. Tech reporting notes Zoph was fired from Thinking Machines earlier this year. Google said it expects Zoph to contribute reinforcement learning and post‑training expertise to its Gemini efforts. The move is one of several high‑profile executive shifts in the AI industry this year.

• Barret Zoph co‑founded Thinking Machines Lab and later rejoined OpenAI.
• Zoph spent five months at OpenAI in 2026 heading AI enterprise sales and left in June 2026.
• Zoph was reported to have been fired from Thinking Machines earlier in 2026.