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2026 Outlook | AI Applications May Become the Main Investment Theme of 2026! Companies like Zhipu and MINIMAX Soar Across the Board—Which Hong Kong and US Stocks Are Worth Watching?

Fellow investors, as we face a brand-new 2026, instead of anxiously chasing trends, it's better to calmly understand the direction. Stay tuned.@Niuniu Classroomto unlock your investment roadmap in real time. In the new year, let’s stay calm and patient, proceed steadily for long-term success, and slowly grow our wealth together.

In 2025, the AI application market will enter a rational adjustment phase after the initial hype fades; looking ahead to 2026, the market expects a significant turning point.The year of explosive growth in AI Agent demand.。

The core driver of this shift lies in the global foundational large models, which, after a year of high-frequency iteration, have reached a commercial tipping point in terms of intelligence, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. Looking ahead, as model performance continues to improve and costs decrease further,AI technology will accelerate its penetration into various vertical scenarios, stimulating massive application demand and truly unlocking the commercial value of industries.

Today,Hong Kong's stock market also witnessed a full-scale explosion in AI applications, $MARKETINGFORCE (02556.HK)$ rising over 32%, $KNOWLEDGE ATLAS (02513.HK)$ soaring over 31%, $MINIMAX-W (00100.HK)$ Up over 15%.

In our previous series of reports, we have conducted in-depth coverage ofrobots.、Autonomous DrivingandDroneareas such as embodied intelligence; this report shifts focus to software and vertical scenarios, with an emphasis on the commercialization path of AI application software and innovative practices of AI in the healthcare field.

Why is the current moment a tipping point for AI applications? How do leading institutions view this industry? Which core stocks in the Hong Kong and US markets offer investment value? This article will provide fellow investors with detailed insights.

Why has the main AI application sector exploded?

First, major model companies MiniMax and Zhipu have recently gone public on the Hong Kong stock exchange, showing strong market performance.Some market observers believe that the listing of these two major model enterprises on the Hong Kong stock exchange provides a crucial anchor for future industry valuation pricing and financing system establishment.

Huachuang Securities stated that Zhipu and MiniMax's successive listings on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange mark the completion of the 'capital loop' for domestic large models,further releasing a clear market signal: the realization of 'commercial value' in the AI application layer has officially begun.

Second, three new hotspots have emerged in the field of AI applications.

One is the AI4S concept (AI for Science): As one of the three key directions of AI, the combination of AI and robotic experiments will significantly enhance the efficiency of pharmaceuticals, materials, and new energy research and development, opening up a trillion-dollar market space in the long term.

The second is the GEO concept (Generative Engine Optimization): This is the 'new SEO' of the AI traffic era. As user behavior shifts from 'search and click' to 'asking for answers,' the focus of brand competition has shifted to 'answer ownership.'

Notably, Musk posted on X that he will officially open-source the latest content recommendation algorithm of the X platform within a week. Musk stated that this open-sourcing will cover 'all code used to decide which organic and ad content to recommend to users,' emphasizing that this is just the first step. The code will be updated every four weeks, accompanied by developer notes highlighting changes in algorithms and logic. This move is interpreted by the market as 'Musk is also entering GEO.'

The third is AI + healthcare: Global giants are accelerating their layout; the two leading players in the US AI field have just completed their respective deployments in the healthcare track. OpenAI launched ChatGPT Health, aiming to transform chatbots into 'personal super assistants' that integrate users' medical records; Anthropic announced the launch of a HIPAA-compliant medical AI tool, which has already been adopted by major healthcare systems including Banner Health.

Additionally, less than a month after the release of the new version of 'Ant Alipay's Afu,' the monthly active users have exceeded 30 million, answering over 10 million health questions daily.

Third, there are new developments in the large model field,Last Friday, there were reports that DeepSeek's next-generation large model is expected to be released around the Chinese New Year in February 2026.

What do institutions think about this industry?

2026 is expected to be a big year for AI application development, which has become a consensus among many institutions.

According to Guojin Securities, in terms of functionality, large models are no longer just chat assistants as they were years ago. The diverse development tools allow businesses and individuals to deeply integrate large models with their workflows, and the Agent format is already taking shape.

In terms of investment, the logic behind investing in the AI industry chain is shifting from 'compute power competition' to 'application value.'China Galaxy Securities pointed out that concerns over an artificial intelligence 'bubble' stem not from the supply side but from the demand side. There is significant room for improvement in generative AI. The current divide in generative AI is particularly evident at the industry level, showing clear signs of structural disruption in the technology and media sectors. Industry-level transformation still has considerable room for improvement.

Guojin Securities stated that the development of large models will accelerate the commoditization and elimination of 'simple applications.' For applications with deep industry know-how, large models are not a threat but rather a key tool for solidifying their core advantages.Among these, AI healthcare is transitioning from being a single auxiliary tool to managing the entire lifecycle, with highly promising monetization paths across manufacturing and management scenarios.

Which companies in the Hong Kong and US stock markets are worth investing in?

Hong Kong stock market

First, the Hong Kong stock market has many high-quality AI application stocks. We have compiled the noteworthy opportunities in the current AI application sector of Hong Kong stocks for fellow investors' reference:

First, in terms of target selection, the market exhibits a pattern of 'resonance between old and new.' On one hand, $BABA-W (09988.HK)$ 、 $TENCENT (00700.HK)$ 、 $MEITUAN-W (03690.HK)$ 、 $KUAISHOU-W (01024.HK)$ leading internet companies remain key allocation targets;

on the other hand, $MINIMAX-W (00100.HK)$ and $KNOWLEDGE ATLAS (02513.HK)$ these two newly listed large model pioneers, due to their scarcity and growth expectations, are quickly becoming core focuses of capital pursuit.

Pacific Securities stated that the differences in revenue structure between the two companies reflect differences in their commercialization paths: 1) Zhipu’s H1 2025 revenue was approximately RMB 191 million, with around 85% from localized deployment income and 15% from cloud deployment income, meaning the company is mainly focused on B-end business; 2) MiniMax’s Q1-Q3 2025 revenue was about RMB 374 million, with roughly 71% from AI-native product revenue and 29% from open platform and other AI-based enterprise service income, indicating the company is primarily driven by C-end application revenue.

The brokerage believes that the difference in stock performance between the two companies is mainly influenced by their commercialization paths: Zhipu's valuation is robust due to the stability of its B-end business, while MiniMax’s valuation is higher because of the greater growth potential of its C-end business. Additionally, the listing of these two companies is expected to push the industry from the technical validation phase into the commercial value realization phase, significantly boosting attention toward AI applications.

Secondly, $DEEPEXI TECH (01384.HK)$this company, known as the 'Chinese version of Palantir,'its business logic does bear similarities to Palantir’s. By building an end-to-end capability chain from 'data-model-application,' it focuses on the deep layout of enterprise-level AI applications, driving continuous earnings growth. In H1 2025, DEEPEXI Technology reported revenue of RMB 132 million, increasing 118.4% year-over-year; gross profit reached RMB 72.71 million, with gross margin improving to 55%.

In the Hong Kong stock market's AI pharmaceuticals sector, a $XTALPI (02228.HK)$ and $INSILICO (03696.HK)$ 'dual-leader' pattern has formed:

– XtalPi Holdings: As a globally leading AI4Science platform, the company has built a unique technological closed loop of 'physical computing + AI + robotics', establishing a strong technical moat in drug discovery and new materials research.

– Insilico Medicine: The growth is driven by a dual-engine model of 'AI platform + proprietary pipeline'. Its core asset, the Pharma.AI platform, has achieved high commercialization, successfully penetrating 13 of the top 20 global pharmaceutical companies; meanwhile, the company monetizes through SaaS subscriptions and pipeline licensing (upfront payments/milestones/royalties).

Regarding GEO concepts, one can focus on $MARKETINGFORCE (02556.HK)$，Great Wall Securities issued a research report stating that Maifushi has launched the GEO Intelligent Assistant, providing a GEO Intelligent Assistant workstation. Users can enhance their GEO capabilities by building enterprise knowledge bases, content feeding, and refining AI prompts, while the platform supports data feedback for effect tracking, completing the full chain of GEO intelligent marketing. Additionally, the platform can identify a brand’s current visibility in AI, compare it with competitors within the industry, and provide optimization suggestions to continuously improve GEO effectiveness.

Furthermore, regarding Hong Kong stock applications, one can also pay attention to: content creation and entertainment-oriented $TME-SW (01698.HK)$ 、 $NETEASE MUSIC (09899.HK)$ 、 $CHINA LIT (00772.HK)$ 、 $DAMAI ENT (01060.HK)$ 、 $CHINA RUYI (00136.HK)$ 、 $NEWBORNTOWN (09911.HK)$ 、 $MEITU (01357.HK)$ 、 $VOBILE GROUP (03738.HK)$ ; marketing and e-commerce-oriented $MOBVISTA (01860.HK)$ ; AI gaming-related $XD INC (02400.HK)$ ; AI vision-related $SENSETIME-W (00020.HK)$ ; In the direction of smart driving and robotics $UBTECH ROBOTICS (09880.HK)$ 、 $DOBOT (02432.HK)$ 、 $HORIZONROBOT-W (09660.HK)$ 、 $XPENG-W (09868.HK)$ 、 $LI AUTO-W (02015.HK)$ 、 $MEDBOT-B (02252.HK)$ 、 $GEEKPLUS-W (02590.HK)$ ; In Physical AI $51WORLD (06651.HK)$ ; In AI+ solutions $KINGSOFT CLOUD (03896.HK)$ ; In AI+SaaS $KINGDEE INT'L (00268.HK)$ 、 $KINGSOFT (03888.HK)$ 、 $PHANCY (06682.HK)$ ; In AI+ healthcare $JD HEALTH (06618.HK)$ 、 $MICROPORT (00853.HK)$ 、 $ALI HEALTH (00241.HK)$ 、 $PA GOODDOCTOR (01833.HK)$ 、 $XUNFEIHEALTH (02506.HK)$ 。

U.S. stock market

Recent moves by overseas tech giants have been frequent:OpenAI has reportedly been exploring an advertising business for ChatGPT, planning to embed 'sponsored content' in responses, marking the official launch of large-scale C-end monetization at the world's largest AI traffic entry point. Meanwhile, OpenAI’s introduction of 'ChatGPT Health' and Anthropic’s release of HIPAA-compliant tools demonstrate the determination of these giants to deepen their foothold in the healthcare sector.

Additionally, Google and Microsoft are vigorously advancing the integration of AI agents with their existing ecosystems. Google announced that advertisers can offer exclusive discounts to potential consumers through the Gemini model, which is seen as a major transformation of its traditional advertising model.

Guojin Securities stated that these developments collectively point to one conclusion:2026 will become the inaugural year for accelerated commercialization of AI applications, with the path from 'usable' to 'user-friendly' and then to 'profitable' gradually being established.

Fellow investors have compiled a list of AI application concept stocks in the US stock market for investors' reference:

Specifically, the current AI application stocks in the US stock market mainly include:

AI + Advertising: $Applovin (APP.US)$ 、 $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ 、 $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ 、 $Twilio (TWLO.US)$ 、 $The Trade Desk (TTD.US)$ 、 $Digital Turbine (APPS.US)$ 、 $Klaviyo (KVYO.US)$ ；

AI + Big Data: $Snowflake (SNOW.US)$ 、 $MongoDB (MDB.US)$ 、 $Confluent (CFLT.US)$ 、 $Oracle (ORCL.US)$ ；

AI + Security: $Palo Alto Networks (PANW.US)$ 、 $CrowdStrike (CRWD.US)$ 、 $Fortinet (FTNT.US)$ 、$Datadog (DDOG.US)$、 $Cloudflare (NET.US)$ 、 $Rubrik (RBRK.US)$ ；

AI + Enterprise Services: $Zoom Communications (ZM.US)$ 、 $UiPath (PATH.US)$ 、 $Workday (WDAY.US)$ 、 $Salesforce (CRM.US)$ 、 $monday.com (MNDY.US)$ 、 $SAP SE (SAP.US)$ 、 $C3.ai (AI.US)$ 、 $HubSpot (HUBS.US)$ 、 $Gitlab (GTLB.US)$ 、 $Atlassian (TEAM.US)$ 、 $Asana (ASAN.US)$ ；

AI + Design: $Figma Inc (FIG.US)$ 、 $Adobe (ADBE.US)$ ；

AI + Defense: $Palantir (PLTR.US)$ 、 $BigBear.ai Holdings (BBAI.US)$ ；

AI + Fleet Management: $Samsara (IOT.US)$ ；

AI + Search: $Elastic (ESTC.US)$ ；

AI + Office: $Freshworks (FRSH.US)$ ；

AI + Education: $Duolingo (DUOL.US)$ ；

AI + E-commerce: $Shopify (SHOP.US)$ 、 $Amazon (AMZN.US)$ ；

AI + Finance: $Intuit (INTU.US)$ 、 $Intapp (INTA.US)$ ；

AI + Data Engineering: $Innodata (INOD.US)$ ；

AI + Voice: $SoundHound AI (SOUN.US)$ ；

AI + Healthcare: $Tempus AI (TEM.US)$ 、 $Doximity (DOCS.US)$ ；

AI + Social: $Reddit (RDDT.US)$ 、 $Life360 (LIF.US)$ ；

AI + Website: $GoDaddy (GDDY.US)$ ；

AI + Gaming: $Unity Software (U.US)$ ；

AI + Marketing: $Zeta Global (ZETA.US)$ ;

AI + Insurance: $Lemonade (LMND.US)$ 。

Moreover, as tech giants accelerate their penetration into vertical fields,Healthcare is becoming the next fiercely contested battleground for AI applications after search engines and office software.

OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Health, creating a 'personal super assistant' that integrates medical records. Meanwhile, Anthropic has introduced a HIPAA-compliant healthcare AI tool. Apple plans to fully revamp its 'Health' app in iOS 26.4 by incorporating AI agents, dietary tracking, and video services, directly challenging existing market players like MyFitnessPal and Noom.

And 'Wood姐' continues to firmly increase her position in the AI healthcare sector. Fellow investors who are interested can follow@牛牛名人追蹤to stay updated on Wood姐's daily portfolio changes. We have also compiled a list of AI healthcare industry-related stocks for fellow investors to reference:

Specifically:

Early disease detection

$Guardant Health (GH.US)$ : Focuses on liquid biopsies and early cancer screening;

$Exact Sciences (EXAS.US)$ : Develops AI-driven cancer screening technology to optimize tumor detection processes;

$Avai Bio (AVAI.US)$ : Concentrates on applying AI algorithms for early disease detection;

Drug Research and Development

$Recursion Pharmaceuticals (RXRX.US)$ : Advanced AI-driven pharmaceutical TechBio, invested in by NVIDIA and Cathie Wood. The company uses AI algorithms to analyze massive amounts of biological data, enabling rapid and accurate screening of potential drug targets related to diseases, significantly shortening the early exploration phase of drug development;

$Schrodinger (SDGR.US)$ : A software and biotechnology company that combines AI with physical modeling to advance drug molecule simulation and prediction;

$BioAge Labs (BIOA.US)$ : A company using AI technology to uncover factors related to aging and develop new therapies based on these insights;

$Absci Corp (ABSI.US)$ : A leading global AI-powered drug discovery platform, focused on precision drug design. The company previously received investment from $Advanced Micro Devices (AMD.US)$ ;

$AbCellera Biologics (ABCL.US)$ : Utilizes its full-stack artificial intelligence or AI-driven antibody discovery platform to search and analyze databases of natural immune systems, designing new antibody drug candidates for partners;

Multi-omics Sequencing

$Tempus AI (TEM.US)$ : Committed to combining artificial intelligence with healthcare data to enhance precision medicine standards comprehensively. Its main business covers three areas: genomic sequencing and precision medicine, data platforms and operating systems, and AI applications and algorithms. Backed by Cathie Wood and Nancy Pelosi;

$10x Genomics (TXG.US)$ : Provides single-cell multi-omics solutions to support precise research at the cellular level, receiving investment from Cathie Wood;

$Illumina (ILMN.US)$ : The world's largest gene sequencing company, which uses AI algorithms to predict disease-causing genetic mutations in patients with high accuracy, but recently 'Wood姐' (Cathie Wood) has started to reduce her holdings.

$CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP.US)$ : A leader in gene editing technology, using AI to optimize the development process of gene therapies, and has received investment from 'Wood姐' (Cathie Wood).

$Beam Therapeutics (BEAM.US)$ : Focused on innovative drug R&D for gene editing and RNA therapies, and has received investment from 'Wood姐' (Cathie Wood).

$Twist Bioscience (TWST.US)$ : A pioneer in DNA synthetic biology, offering AI-powered antibody discovery services, and has received investment from 'Wood姐' (Cathie Wood).

Automation in healthcare and intelligent robotics

$Intuitive Surgical (ISRG.US)$ : A global leader in minimally invasive care and a pioneer in robot-assisted surgery.

$Vicarious Surgical (RBOT.US)$ : A company developing minimally invasive surgical robots that incorporate virtual reality technology.

Virtual healthcare and remote monitoring

$Molina Healthcare (MOH.US)$ : Specializes in government health insurance programs.

$Cardinal Health (CAH.US)$ : A leading global pharmaceutical distributor covering more than 100,000 medical institutions, manufacturing medical and surgical products (such as gloves, surgical gowns), and operating the largest network of radiopharmacies in the U.S.

$Teladoc Health (TDOC.US)$ : A global leader in virtual medical services, the company is applying AI technology to its Virtual Sitter solution to help hospitals enhance patient safety management and improve the efficiency of medical resource allocation.

$Stryker Corp (SYK.US)$ : A global leader in orthopedics and medical technology, it recently acquired the AI healthcare company care.ai to reshape healthcare services using AI.

$Hims & Hers Health (HIMS.US)$ : A telemedicine company that integrates AI into its services to enhance personalized patient care.

Other

$Butterfly Network (BFLY.US)$ : Combining AI technology to support the widespread application of mobile medical devices in primary healthcare scenarios, driving deeper AI applications in medical imaging and education.

$RadNet (RDNT.US)$ : Promoting AI solutions for cancer screening and neuroradiology.

$Weave Communications (WEAV.US)$ : Utilizing AI to improve communication efficiency within the healthcare industry.

$Nano X Imaging (NNOX.US)$ : Uses artificial intelligence for medical image processing, known as the 'X-ray field.'$Tesla (TSLA.US)$: An Israeli medical imaging company, invested in by NVIDIA.

$GE HealthCare Technologies (GEHC.US)$ : Spun off from General Electric, integrating AI into medical equipment and digital solutions.

$Definitive Healthcare (DH.US)$ : Building an AI-powered medical data analysis platform;

$Veeva Systems (VEEV.US)$ : Providing cloud-based AI applications for the life sciences sector;

$Doximity (DOCS.US)$ : Known as the 'LinkedIn for doctors,' extensively utilizing AI technology to enhance user experience and platform functionality;

$Ginkgo Bioworks (DNA.US)$ : Using AI-driven technology to design microorganisms that produce industrially valuable compounds.

In addition, in the US stock market, there are healthcare ETFs such as $ARK Genomic Revolution ETF (ARKG.US)$ 、 $Global X Fds Genomics & Biotechnology Etf (GNOM.US)$、 $The Health Care Select Sector SPDR® Fund (XLV.US)$ 、 $Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT.US)$ 、 $iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB.US)$ 、 $Ishares Trust U.S. Medical Devices Etf (IHI.US)$ .

Summary

CSC Financial stated that as model capabilities continue to improve, particularly with significant reductions in inference and long-context processing costs, downstream AI application scenarios are accelerating into the commercial validation phase. Key areas of focus include search & marketing, coding, multimodal applications, agents, and AI for science. The commercialization progress of related companies is expected to further accelerate. However, fellow investors should remain cautious about risks associated with slower-than-expected commercial progress and market demand.

Fellow investors may also refer to previous articles in the 2026 outlook series.

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