Key points
- Chinese chipmakers challenge Nvidia in AI race
- MetaX raises $585 million in IPO
- China invests in domestic AI chip industry
SHANGHAI, China: Shares in China’s MetaX, which manufactures high-end chips used to power AI systems, surged more than 750 percent on its debut in Shanghai on Wednesday, driven by hopes for the country’s potential to challenge US powerhouse Nvidia.
The rally in MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai came less than two weeks after another Chinese chipmaker, Moore Threads, surged 425 percent following a blockbuster US$1.1 billion initial public offering, reports AFP.
Both firms make the advanced chips known as graphics processing units (GPUs), which run and train artificial intelligence tools.
The GPU sector is dominated by Nvidia, now the world’s most valuable company, thanks to frenzied global demand and optimism for AI.
MetaX and Moore Threads are much smaller firms, but analysts say investors are buying into the prospect of China ramping up its chip industry to eventually rival the US giant.
Shares in MetaX — which had been priced at 104.66 yuan (US$14.86) in an IPO that raised US$585.8 million — soared as much as 755 percent to 895.00 yuan, before dropping slightly to 730.34 yuan.
China and the United States are competing for dominance in AI, and Beijing has reportedly been encouraging tech companies to use homegrown chips owing to Washington’s export restrictions on top-end Nvidia models.
Technological advantage
However, US President Donald Trump last week said he had agreed with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping to allow Nvidia to export its advanced H200 chips to the country.
H200s are roughly 18 months behind the US company’s most state-of-the-art offerings, which will still be off-limits to China.
But the move marked a shift away from export curbs imposed by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden.
Those restrictions were first implemented in 2022 over national security concerns, such as the Chinese military gaining a technological advantage over the United States.
Rui Ma, founder of the Tech Buzz China newsletter, told AFP this month that “export controls have created a protected high-end segment” for chips in China.
“Combined with policy support and much deeper capital pools, domestic GPU and AI accelerator companies now have far more favourable conditions than in prior cycles,” she said.
“As a result, firms such as Moore Threads, Cambricon, MetaX, Biren, and Enflame are drawing significant investor interest.”
