Chinese AI firm MiniMax launches H3 multimodal video generation model

Jul 31, 2026

Chinese AI firm MiniMax launched its H3 multimodal video-generation model on July 31, 2026. The model produces 15-second 2K videos with stereo sound at less than one-third the cost of mainstream rivals. To challenge competitors like ByteDance and Kuaishou, MiniMax plans to release H3's model weights. Additionally, the model is designed to run on Chinese-made chips, supporting domestic efforts to reduce reliance on U.S. semiconductors.

MiniMax H3 model launch

▪The MiniMax H3 model can generate videos of up to 15 seconds in 2K resolution with native stereo sound.
▪Chinese AI firm MiniMax released a new multimodal video-generation model named H3 on July 31, 2026.
▪MiniMax, founded in 2022, listed publicly in Hong Kong in January 2026, becoming the second of China's "AI tigers" to list.
▪The MiniMax H3 model can process text, images, video, and audio, as well as edit existing content and transfer movements between videos.

Chinese AI video competition

▪Competition among Chinese video-model developers intensified following ByteDance's release of Seedance 2.0 and Kuaishou's release of Kling 3.0.
▪MiniMax's H3 model launch steps up competition in China's fast-growing video-generation market led by rivals ByteDance and Kuaishou.

Open-weight model release strategy

▪MiniMax plans to release the model weights for H3 within days of its July 31, 2026 launch, allowing users to download and customize the underlying system.
▪The open-weight release of H3 extends an approach increasingly adopted by Chinese AI developers into video generation, where many prominent models remain proprietary.

Commercial applications pricing

▪MiniMax stated that generating 2K video using the H3 model would cost less than one-third of mainstream rival products.
▪MiniMax designed the H3 model for commercial applications including advertising, e-commerce, product design, and games.

Chinese semiconductor independence push

▪MiniMax designed its H3 video-generation model to work with several Chinese-made chips.
▪The integration of Chinese-made chips in MiniMax's H3 model comes amid a growing push in China's AI sector to reduce dependence on U.S. semiconductors.