Shanghai Biren Intelligent Technology Co., a startup in the China AI Chip Company, is reportedly exploring an IPO in Hong Kong as early as this year in order to cash in on a surge of local customers switching to its AI chips as an alternative to Nvidia Corp. silicon that has been outlawed.
The company intends to register for the first-ever share sale as early as the upcoming weeks, according to the people, who declined to be named because the information is confidential. In the meantime, the business is in discussions with financiers, including state-backed funds in Guangzhou, for a different investment round that might raise approximately 2 billion yuan ($279 million), the people said.
According to the sources, Biren is still deliberating and hasn’t decided on the IPO’s size. The magnitude and schedule of the potential fundraising, among other things, could yet vary, they added. Requests for a response from the corporation were not answered.
Biren’s fundraising initiatives coincide with China’s government stepping up efforts to build its own semiconductor industry, following a US-led campaign that prevented Chinese businesses from purchasing advanced chips, including some Nvidia products used to develop artificial intelligence capabilities. Biren, a 2019 startup that focuses on areas like graphics processing units and cloud computing, is one of the most promising domestic rivals to Nvidia, the market leader.
About 4.7 billion yuan have been invested in the firm by investors like IDG Capital, Ping An Insurance Group Co., and China Merchants Capital. According to a previous Bloomberg News article, it was looking to raise money again last year at a valuation of 17 billion yuan ($2.4 billion). The first general-purpose graphics processing unit was released in August 2022, according to the company, “setting a new record in global computing power.”
The Joe Biden administration’s extensive restrictions on China’s access to semiconductor technology have tested Biren’s goals for the chip industry. In order to assure compliance with US regulations, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the top manufacturer of specialized chips for businesses like Apple Inc., halted production of advanced silicon for Biren, according to a story from Bloomberg News in October.
According to the sources, Biren’s products are gaining popularity among significant Chinese companies on the domestic market as it prepares for its Hong Kong IPO. According to the sources, SenseTime Group Inc., which recently revealed a lineup of new AI services, including SenseChat, a rival to ChatGPT, has placed orders with the startup.
SenseTime chose not to comment. TSMC responded that, as a law-abiding business, it complies with all pertinent rules and regulations but declined to comment on any customer interactions.
