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Chinese AI-chip startups is flocking to go public, following Moore Threads' successful listing on the A-share market, MetaX also completed its A-share IPO on December 17, while Biren Technology received approval for a Hong Kong listing, which highlights investor enthusiasm around AI chip firms.
As a critical component of AI computing infrastructure, the strategic significance of graphics processing units (GPUs) continues to rise. In response to long-standing U.S. export controls on advanced AI chips and related technologies, China is actively building out a self-sufficient semiconductor ecosystem. Moore Threads, MetaX, Biren Technology, and Suiruan Technology are collectively recognized as the "Four Top leaders of Domestic GPUs" within China’s semiconductor industry. The first three have either already listed or are in the stage of preparation, whereas Suiruan Technology remains in the IPO tutoring phase. All were established between 2018 and 2020, with core operations centered on AI computing power and GPU chip development.
Moore Threads is widely regarded as the "Chinese NVIDIA," largely due to its founder Zhang Jianzhong’s prior role as Global Vice President and General Manager of China at NVIDIA. Since its listing on December 5, the company’s stock price surged dramatically, rising from an issue price of 114 yuan to a peak of 941 yuan within five trading days—a cumulative increase of up to 723%. At its peak, the company’s market capitalization exceeded 440 billion yuan, placing it among the top three most valuable stocks on the A-share market.
There is high bar in capital in the semiconductor industry exceptionally, with single R&D projects often costing tens of millions of U.S. dollars. Startups must rely on capital markets for continuously supportive capital for funding next-generation chip development and iteration. For such enterprises, going public represents a vital avenue for securing funding, attracting top-tier talent as well as enhancing operational resilience.
Amid intensifying technological competition between U.S. and China, both Moore Threads and Biren Technology were added to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Entity List in October 2023, restricting their ability to collaborate with leading overseas foundries such as TSMC. These sanctions have significantly constrained their access to cutting-edge manufacturing processes. While certain domestic players—such as Huawei and Cambricon—have demonstrated AI chip performance surpassing that of NVIDIA’s H20 model, they still lag behind the more advanced H200. In the near term, Huawei’s Ascend series stands out as the most promising domestic alternative capable of competing with NVIDIA’s H200. However, it is too early to tell that whether AI chips from emerging startups like Moore Threads can effectively compete with global leaders due to lack of independent third-party verification of the real capabilities of AI chips.
By in large, investor enthusiasm around Chinese AI-chip IPOs such as MetaX is partly shaped by the long-term expectations that China will build out a self-sufficient semiconductor ecosystem, and the main driver of the frenzy around AI-chip IPOs is definitely the firms' growth potential. To be honest, it will take time to test and exam the products developed by the startups in terms of performance, pricing, and competitive positioning to judge their competitiveness objectively.Complete digital access to quality Glebors financial topic with expert analysis from industry leaders.
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