[News] China AI Chipmakers Step Up Hong Kong IPO with Baidu Kunlunxin Filing, Biren HK$5.58B Listing

China’s AI chipmakers are stepping up their push toward Hong Kong listings. According to Reuters, Chinese search giant Baidu said that its AI chip unit Kunlunxin has confidentially submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 1, setting the stage for a potential spin-off and standalone IPO.

Following the proposed spin-off, Kunlunxin is expected to remain a subsidiary of Baidu, the company said. The report adds that details including the offering size and deal structure have yet to be finalized. Reuters previously reported that Kunlunxin was preparing for a Hong Kong IPO after completing a fundraising round that valued the company at about 21 billion yuan ($3 billion).

As noted by IThome, Kunlunxin’s business has grown rapidly over the past two years. Beyond Baidu as a key customer, external clients now account for about 40% of its business, including internet majors, smartphone makers, telecom operators, and state-owned enterprises. IThome adds that the company’s revenue topped 1 billion yuan ($140 million) in 2024, exceeding that of already listed peers such as Moore Threads and Cambricon.

Biren Leads a New Wave of AI Chip IPOs in Hong Kong

Kunlunxin is not the only firm pursuing a Hong Kong listing. Among the most recent Hong Kong IPOs, Shanghai Biren Technology has drawn strong market attention. As Reuters reports, shares of the Chinese AI chip designer more than doubled on their Hong Kong debut on Friday. The company is also the first GPU-focused stock to list in Hong Kong, Bloomberg notes.

Biren raised HK$5.58 billion ($717 million) by selling 284.8 million H shares at HK$19.60 each, pricing at the top of its marketed range. Exchange filings cited by Reuters show that institutional investors sought nearly 26 times the shares on offer, while the retail portion was oversubscribed by about 2,348 times.

As highlighted by Commercial Times, the Hong Kong offering attracted participation from around 471,000 retail investors, making it the most oversubscribed IPO by retail investors in the city over the past year. The deal also marked the largest fundraising completed to date under Chapter 18C of Hong Kong’s listing rules.

The listing followed strong debuts by peers Moore Threads, often dubbed “China’s NVIDIA,” and MetaX on Shanghai’s STAR Market last month, South China Morning Post indicates. Separately, Chinese AI start-ups Zhipu and MiniMax are currently building their IPO books in Hong Kong, the report adds.

Read more

• [News] Baidu Reportedly Explores Kunlunxin Spinoff and Listing Amid a Surge in China Chip IPOs
• [News] China’s GPU IPO Wave Intensifies: MetaX Surpasses Moore Threads in Retail Investor Interest

(Photo credit: Baidu)