Aggregators Erode MiniMax Pricing Power

The value is shifting from the model maker to the screen where creators actually work. In AI video, users inside OpenArt, Higgsfield, and Runway pick a model from a menu, compare results, and rerun the same prompt on another engine if cost, speed, or motion quality looks better. That makes MiniMax easier to replace, and it gives the aggregator the customer, the billing relationship, and the workflow data that usually create pricing power.1 2 3 4 5

• The market is fragmented by use case, not dominated by one lab. OpenArt positions MiniMax as strong for animation, Runway for camera control, and Kling for character consistency. When each model is best at a narrow job, the product that combines them becomes the natural place to spend money.1 2 5
• Runway has already moved from being a single model company to being a router. Its product updates show MiniMax Hailuo 3.0 live on Runway Dev, and its enterprise materials emphasize third party model commitments. That means even a direct competitor can turn MiniMax into just one option inside a larger bundle.3 4
• MiniMax still benefits from this distribution because third party platforms send it demand from users who never open Hailuo directly. But the same setup caps upside. MiniMax can win volume while losing control over pricing, feature packaging, and the end user relationship.5 6

The next battleground is owning the creative workflow, not just owning the best model checkpoint. If aggregators keep adding routing, editing, and team collaboration around interchangeable models, MiniMax will need its own sticky surfaces, or clearly superior output in a few jobs, to avoid becoming infrastructure sold through someone else's storefront.1 2 3 5