Xiaohongshu plans to confidentially submit an IPO application in Hong Kong by the end of this month, according to Bloomberg sources.
The lifestyle platform was founded in Shanghai in 2013 by Mao Wenchao and Qu Fang, with backing from Tencent, Alibaba, Sequoia China, Hillhouse Investment, and GSR Ventures. After a 2024 funding round valued it at roughly $17 billion, secondary market trading pushed that number to $31 billion by September 2025. The company has told shareholders it expects around $3 billion in profit for the full year 2025.
Hong Kong has seen a wave of tech IPOs this year, including AI firm MiniMax and chipmaker Biren Technology. But Xiaohongshu faces its own threats — rivals like ByteDance's Douyin are competing fiercely in short video and social commerce. During last year's brief TikTok ban in the US, Xiaohongshu's international version RedNote surged in popularity among users seeking an alternative.