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TMTPOST -- Chinese chipmakers are accelerating plans to go public, seeking fresh capital to support Beijing』s push for technological self-reliance and to compete more aggressively in the global artificial intelligence race.
The rush to market follows a pair of eye-catching domestic listings that underscored strong investor appetite for homegrown semiconductor champions—some of which analysts say could one day challenge industry leaders such as Nvidia.
Earlier this month, AI chipmaker Moore Threads Technology Co. surged 425% on its first day of trading in Shanghai. Days later, MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co. jumped 693% in its debut, reinforcing confidence that demand for Chinese chip stocks remains robust despite geopolitical headwinds.
「China is catching up very quickly in the chip war,」 said Matt Toms, head of cash equity execution for Asia-Pacific at Barclays. 「It wouldn』t surprise me if in 2026 or 2027 we see a 『DeepSeek moment』 for chips, where a low-cost, competitive product emerges from China. That would be disruptive for Nvidia and its supply chain.」
Toms was referring to the Chinese startup that shook the AI industry earlier this year with low-cost models offering performance comparable to leading global chatbots. U.S. political scrutiny of Chinese AI firms has since intensified, with Republican lawmakers urging the Pentagon to designate several companies, including DeepSeek, as Chinese military-linked entities.
While some Chinese chipmakers already dominate segments of the domestic market, many remain relatively unknown to international investors. Their planned share sales, particularly in Hong Kong, will test global appetite for Chinese semiconductor firms at a time of heightened political and regulatory risk.
Here is a list of Chinese AI chip firms seeking IPO in Hong Kong:
Biren Technology
Founded in 2019, Shanghai-based Biren Technology focuses on GPUs and cloud computing and is widely viewed as one of China』s strongest domestic challengers to Nvidia.
Biren filed for a Hong Kong listing earlier this month after receiving approval from China』s securities regulator to issue up to 372.5 million new shares. The company is expected to begin sounding out investors soon for an IPO that could raise about $600 million.
The firm was placed on Washington』s 「entity list」 in 2023, restricting its access to U.S. technology without special licenses.
Kunlunxin
Baidu Inc.』s AI chip unit, Kunlunxin, is also weighing a Hong Kong IPO. The unit develops chips used in data center servers and is valued at at least $3 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Kunlunxin was created in part to meet Baidu』s growing internal demand for computing power to support its search, cloud and AI businesses.
Iluvatar CoreX
Another potential Nvidia rival, Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor Co., has also filed for a Hong Kong listing. Backed by Centurium Capital, the company is considering an IPO that could raise $300 million to $400 million, Bloomberg News reported.
Founded in 2015, Iluvatar raised 1.2 billion yuan ($170 million) in a 2021 funding round led by Centurium and Cedarlake Capital, followed by another 1 billion yuan round in 2022 backed by Beijing Financial Street Capital and Hopu.
Enflame Technology
Shanghai-based Enflame Technology Co., founded in 2018 by former Advanced Micro Devices employees, is pursuing an onshore IPO. The company is backed by Tencent Holdings and China』s state semiconductor fund.
Enflame has been targeting a listing on Shanghai』s STAR Market, a Nasdaq-style board that is more accommodating to loss-making but high-growth technology companies. It is aiming to raise as much as 2 billion yuan, Bloomberg News has reported.
GigaDevice and Montage
Memory chipmaker GigaDevice Semiconductor Inc. and memory interface specialist Montage Technology Co. are both seeking secondary listings in Hong Kong. Each is aiming to raise up to $1 billion as early as January, according to market sources.
Both companies are already listed in Shanghai. Montage』s onshore shares trade at about 44 times forward earnings, below the STAR Market average and far under Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.』s valuation.
ChangXin Memory and Yangtze Memory
ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc., China』s leading memory chipmaker, is weighing an onshore IPO that could value the company at up to 300 billion yuan. The Hefei-based firm recently began mass production of advanced mobile memory chips, marking China』s first serious entry into a segment long dominated by foreign players such as Samsung Electronics.
Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., founded in Wuhan in 2016 and focused on 3D NAND flash memory, is also considering a mainland IPO that could value it at more than $40 billion.
Together, the wave of planned listings highlights how China』s semiconductor sector is turning to capital markets to fund rapid expansion, even as intensifying competition, fast-moving technology cycles and geopolitical pressure continue to shape the industry』s trajectory.
