Two of China’s most ambitious AI chip designers, Moore Threads and MetaX, have filed for initial public offerings on Shanghai’s STAR Market, seeking to raise a combined ¥12 billion ($1.65 billion). The dual listings signal Beijing’s intensifying push for technological self-sufficiency in semiconductors, particularly as U.S. export controls tighten the chokehold on access to cutting-edge GPUs.

Betting on a Sanctions-Driven Market Shift

Both Moore Threads and MetaX are wagering that Washington’s sweeping export restrictions — aimed at curbing China’s access to Nvidia’s A100 and H100 chips — will fast-track demand for domestically designed AI processors across cloud computing, national infrastructure, and private enterprise.

"Export controls have become an unexpected catalyst," says a Shenzhen-based semiconductor investor. "Suddenly, Chinese firms that were niche players are now critical to national AI capacity planning."

Moore Threads, founded by former Nvidia China executives in 2020, specializes in general-purpose GPUs (GPGPUs) that can support both AI inference and 3D rendering. The company claims its MUSA architecture can match the performance of earlier-generation Nvidia chips, and is already in trial use at several state-backed cloud providers.

MetaX, backed by Alibaba and Sequoia Capital China, focuses on AI accelerator chips optimized for large language models and data centers. Its flagship BlackStar chip reportedly matches the performance of Nvidia’s A30 in certain inference tasks — a significant claim as Chinese firms scramble to develop domestic alternatives amid a GPU shortage.

IPO Details: Strategic Capital for Strategic Tech

Both firms are listing on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market, China's Nasdaq-style board for "hard tech" companies. According to draft prospectuses filed with the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), Moore Threads is aiming to raise ¥7 billion, while MetaX targets ¥5 billion.

Proceeds will be used to:

  • Expand advanced packaging and tape-out capabilities;

  • Fund next-gen chip R&D (including 7nm and experimental 5nm nodes);

  • Develop local ecosystems of compilers, drivers, and AI frameworks.

As of Q2 2025, neither firm is profitable. Moore Threads reported ¥920 million in revenue last year but posted a net loss of ¥2.4 billion, reflecting heavy R&D investment and scaling costs. MetaX is at an earlier stage, with ¥410 million in revenue and a ¥1.6 billion net loss.

Despite the red ink, institutional demand is high. Several state-backed investment funds, including the National IC Fund (commonly known as "Big Fund II"), are expected to participate in cornerstone tranches.

Strategic Context: National Security Meets Market Economics

The IPOs come amid heightened urgency in Beijing to establish a resilient semiconductor supply chain, particularly for AI and military-adjacent applications. With Nvidia, AMD, and Intel constrained by U.S. export bans, China’s policymakers are accelerating funding pipelines, regulatory fast-tracking, and talent recruitment in advanced chip sectors.

In April, China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) issued updated guidelines prioritizing “secure and controllable” computing infrastructure, implicitly encouraging state-owned enterprises and cloud providers to replace foreign AI chips with local alternatives by 2027.

"The IPOs aren’t just market events — they are state-endorsed industrial policy in motion," says Zhang Wei, a chip policy analyst at Tsinghua University.

Risks Remain: Talent Gaps and Foundry Bottlenecks

While Moore Threads and MetaX have gained momentum, challenges persist. China still relies on Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung for advanced chip fabrication — both potentially vulnerable to geopolitical pressure. Moreover, designing cutting-edge AI chips requires elite engineering talent and software ecosystems, where U.S. firms remain dominant.

Another concern is overlap and redundancy in China's AI chip sector, where more than 100 startups compete for overlapping use cases with limited differentiation. Analysts warn that state subsidies and capital injections may distort market signals unless demand translates into commercial viability.

AI Chip IPO Tracker – China (2024–2025)

Company Focus Area IPO Size (¥B) Revenue (2024) Profitability Backers
Moore Threads GPGPU / AI ¥7.0 ¥920M Net loss Hillhouse, CITIC, MIIT
MetaX LLmAI  ¥5.0 ¥410M Net loss Alibaba,Sequoia,Big Fund
Biren Tech AI Training  ¥6.2 (2024) ¥780M Net loss Tencent, ARM China

Conclusion: High Stakes, High Ambitions

As U.S.-China tech decoupling deepens, the success of Moore Threads and MetaX will serve as a bellwether for China’s broader chip ambitions. These IPOs are not merely fundraising events — they are strategic bets on whether China can build a globally competitive, sanctions-resilient AI chip ecosystem from within.

For investors, the question is not just one of valuation, but whether geopolitical necessity can outpace technical uncertainty.