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[News] China’s AI Unicorn Moore Threads, Domestic Competitor to NVIDIA, Kicks off IPO Process
China’s AI unicorn Moore Threads has submitted a filing for an initial public offering (IPO) in the domestic market amid U.S. sanctions this week, making it the third Chinese chip company this year to initiate the IPO process, according to the reports by China’s local media mydrivers and Shanghai Daily.
The Only Domestic GPU Company in China to Rival NVIDIA?
In light of US restrictions on NVIDIA’s advanced GPUs for AI training, China is ramping up its production of high-end chips. According to Shanghai Daily, Moore Threads is the only domestic GPU company offering products that cater to both enterprise and consumer markets, similar to NVIDIA.
This summer, the firm presented KUAE, a comprehensive AI data center solution built on the company’s MTT S4000 GPU and related processors, according to Shanghai Daily, which allows for the efficient deployment of large-scale AI computing power, supporting up to 10,000 GPUs.
According to industry experts cited by Shanghai Daily, Moore Threads’ S4000 GPU delivers performance roughly 60 percent of that of NVIDIA’s A100, a model currently unavailable in China due to US sanctions.
China’s Domestic IPO Wave from Chip Firms
Moore Threads, founded in 2020 by James Zhang, a former leader at NVIDIA China and an experienced executive in the GPU and chip industry, is currently valued at RMB 25.5 billion (roughly USD 3.47 billion), mydrivers notes.
According to Shanghai Daily, a pre-listing registration document was filed on the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) website on Wednesday. The firm’s preferred choice for its IPO is the Shanghai STAR Market, a platform designed to promote innovation and the development of core technologies, the report suggests.
Its investors reportedly include well-known state-owned and venture capital institutions such as China Mobile, Shenzhen Capital Group, Shanghai Guosheng, BOC International, Zhongguancun Science Park, and Sequoia Capital.
It is worth noting that Moore Threads’ planned IPO has made it the third domestic chip company this year to initiate the IPO process, the largest as well, following Enflame and Biren, according to mydrivers.
The mydrivers report notes that in August, Enflame Technology, which focuses on AI training and inference chips, began its IPO, with a valuation of RMB 16 billion (around USD 2.2 billion). The company’s two founders are former colleagues from AMD, according to the report.
On the other hand, in September, Shanghai-based Biren Technology announced the launch of its IPO counseling, mydrivers indicates. According to information cited from the Hurun Global Unicorn List, Biren Technology is valued at around RMB 15.5 billion (roughly USD 2.1 billion).
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(Photo credit: Moore Threads)
