China AI chip firm Biren set for Hong Kong IPO in coming weeks, sources say

Chinese AI chip startup Biren Technology is reportedly planning to launch a Hong Kong initial public offering in the coming weeks.

According to Reuters, the IPO could potentially raise $300 million as reported by Chinese media officials.

The Shanghai-based company along with other competitors is relying on fast growth as China aims to develop domestic alternatives to U.S. semiconductors amid stringent export limitations by Washington on advanced chips.

The official notice has been released by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), which states that the issue will raise up to HKD 372.5 billion, and current stockholders will convert 873.3 million onshore shares into Hong-Kong-listed stock.

China’s cutting-edge plans for homegrown champions are crucial for artificial intelligence development

Beijing has focused on generating homegrown companies developing graphics processing units (GPUs), which are vital for artificial intelligence (AI) development.

The planned IPO is expected to follow or be benchmarked against significant offerings from industry peers, including Moore Threads (688795.SS) and MetaX (688802.SS).

Biren’s co-founders include Zhang Wen, formerly a president at dominant AI face-recognition company SenseTime (0020.HK). Biren was founded in 2019.

The company attracted attention in 2022 when it unveiled an initial batch of products, including its BR100 chip, which it declared could have performance similar to Nvidia's chips (NVD.O).

Biren was valued at 14 billion yuan (approximately $2 billion) during an early stage of funding, when it raised about 1.5 billion yuan from shareholders including the Guangdong and Shanghai governments.

In addition, other investors include Qiming Venture Partners, the venture arm of Hillhouse Investment, Russia-China Investment Fund as well as Country Garden Venture Capital and New World Group.

Nonetheless, the recent development demonstrated Biren is positioning itself as a significant player prioritizing the creation of a full-stack AI ecosystem, thus challenging the dominance of U.S. firms like Nvidia.