Key Takeaways:
Iluvatar CoreX has filed for a Hong Kong IPO and passed its listing hearing, following a similar filing by rival Biren, seizing on strong investor appetite for GPU listings
The AI chipmaker's sales increased by 64% in the first half of this year, but its loss for the period was nearly double its revenue.
Call it microchip mania or a silicon feeding frenzy. Whatever you name it, China's AI chip sector is having its moment, feeding on the glory of global superstar Nvidia, which lived in obscurity for years before breaking out to become the world's most valuable company.
Two homegrown AI chipmakers captivated investors this month with spectacular stock debuts that made them some of the hottest properties on China's domestic stock markets. Moore Threads (688795.SS) saw its shares surge over 400% when it debuted in Shanghai this month. Two weeks later, rival MetaX (688802.SS) soared by an even bigger 700% in its Shanghai debut.
But the story doesn't end there, as envious competitors clamor for their own piece of the investor pie. Into that mix comes Shanghai Iluvatar CoreX Semiconductor Co. Ltd., which last Friday made its first public filing for aHong Kong IPO, the same day it also passed its listing hearing. Iluvatar's move came just two days after rival Biren Semiconductor made its own first public filing for a Hong Kong IPO. Those two filings follow an announcement by search leader and autonomous driving specialist Baidu this month that it was evaluating a potential spinoff and listing of its AI chip unit, Kunlunxin, also in Hong Kong.
Reports of Iluvatar's Hong Kong IPO plans first surfaced in August, saying the company planned to raise about $300 million.
The success of Moore Threads and MetaX suggests there's strong appetite in China for general purpose graphic processing unit (GPU) stocks, a dynamic that Iluvatar and Biren hope will translate to similar demand from Hong Kong's more internationally focused investor base. The Shanghai rallies were driven by investors wagering on ...
