An 83% price increase did not decrease usage; instead, it increased. Zhipu's annual report exceeded expectations, and AI infrastructure is expected to benefit from rising computing power demand.

Why did the call volume surge against the trend after AI · Zhipu API’s price increase of 83%?

On March 31, Zhipu released its first annual report since going public, with 2025 performance exceeding expectations. Zhipu’s MaaS API platform achieved an ARR of 1.7 billion yuan (about $250 million), a 60-fold year-over-year increase; meanwhile, the gross profit margin of the MaaS API platform rose nearly 5 times year-over-year to 18.9%, significantly enhancing profitability.

Notably, after Zhipu raised API prices by 83% in the first quarter of 2026, the call volume did not decrease but instead increased, and the market still remained in short supply. Zhipu stated that the enhancement of the upper limit of intelligence is the “first principle” in the era of large model AGI, and it will continue to focus on the ongoing breakthroughs in model intelligence.

In 2026, the commercialization of AI applications will fully explode, potentially directly boosting the prosperity of the cloud infrastructure supply chain. China Post Securities believes that the exponential growth of token call volume signifies that data elements are achieving a closed loop from supply to value through a monetizable model. The competition among large models is shifting from capability comparison to usage volume comparison, and AI infrastructure, as the core component supporting the expansion of call scale, means that underlying support systems such as computing power, networks, and data scheduling must expand in sync or even ahead, fully benefiting from the continuous rise in token demand.

Disclaimer: The market carries risks; investment should be cautious. This article is generated by AI based on third-party data, for reference only, and does not constitute personal investment advice.