Moore Threads leads the way as Asia’s new AI forces gather.

Moore Threads leads the way as Asia’s new AI forces gather.

China’s AI chip industry is entering a period of concentrated capital market boom, with Moore Threads surging more than 400% on its first day of trading at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Baidu’s AI chip subsidiary Kunlun Chip is reportedly preparing for a Hong Kong listing, while Foxconn’s parent company Hon Hai Tech Group announced November revenue figures showing strong demand for AI servers, highlighting the investment enthusiasm and market expectations throughout the entire AI hardware supply chain.

Moore Threads, dubbed “China’s Nvidia,” jumped as much as 502% during its first trading day in Shanghai on Thursday, closing at 600.5 yuan and soaring 425.46% from its IPO price of 114.28 yuan. The Beijing-based GPU manufacturer raised $1.1 billion in its IPO. Despite not being profitable and facing US sanctions, the market demonstrated strong confidence in the company’s prospects.

Tencent News reports that Baidu’s AI chip company Kunlun Chip is preparing for a Hong Kong listing. The company previously considered listing on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, but decided to shift to the Hong Kong market in the second half of this year. After its latest funding round, Kunlun Chip is valued at around 21 billion yuan (about $3 billion), and plans to submit its IPO application as early as the first quarter of next year.

Meanwhile, Hon Hai, a partner of Nvidia, reported historic high November revenue of NT$844.276 billion, up 25.5% year-over-year, mainly benefiting from burgeoning demand for AI servers, providing solid evidence of strong demand across the entire AI supply chain.

Moore Threads Listing Sparks AI Chip Investment Boom

Moore Threads’ successful listing marks a new milestone for China’s AI chip industry. According to its prospectus, the IPO funds will be used to accelerate core R&D projects, including next-generation self-developed AI training and inference GPU chips, with part of the funds supplementing working capital.

The company represents China’s growing group of AI processor development firms as Beijing seeks to reduce reliance on US industry giant Nvidia. In addition to tech giants like Huawei, specialist companies such as Cambricon are also actively expanding in this field—Cambricon’s shares have risen over 100% this year.

Chinese regulators are also pushing for more semiconductor companies to go public, aiming for greater AI independence. Emerging firms such as Iluvatar CoreX and Biren Tech are entering the sector as well, hoping to capture billions of dollars in GPU demand that Nvidia can no longer serve.

Kunlun Chip Leads in Revenue, Baidu Shares Surge

News of Baidu’s Kunlun Chip’s listing plans drove Baidu’s Hong Kong shares up 5% on Friday. Kunlun Chip, incubated within Baidu, completed independent financing in April 2021. Its core advantage lies in having its products honed through Baidu’s core businesses and large-model development.

Kunlun Chip’s revenue in 2024 exceeded 1 billion yuan, higher than other already listed or listing companies including Iluvatar CoreX, Biren Tech, Moore Threads and Cambricon. Beyond Baidu, about 40% of Kunlun Chip’s clients are external customers, including internet giants, smartphone makers, carriers and major state-owned enterprises.

J.P. Morgan projects that Baidu’s Kunlun Chip revenues will rise from about 1.3 billion yuan in 2025 to 8.3 billion in 2026—a six-fold increase. The bank believes Baidu is transforming from a traditional search and advertising company into an AI infrastructure provider, and Kunlun Chip sales plus GPU computing demand will markedly enhance Baidu’s revenue growth.

Hon Hai’s Performance Validates Persistent AI Demand

Hon Hai’s November revenue figures provide strong support for AI industry demand. The company stated that shipments of AI server cabinets continued to increase, and ICT products have entered peak season, with fourth-quarter visibility better than the previous month. The market expects Foxconn's sales to grow 14% in the three months ending December.

Hon Hai’s cloud network business achieved strong double-digit year-on-year growth due to surging AI server demand, and client cabinet orders maintained momentum month-on-month. As a key supplier of servers equipped with data-center-grade chips, Foxconn directly benefits from major US tech companies like Meta and Amazon ramping up purchases of related equipment for AI training and deployment.

The company is currently expanding production capacity in the US, increasing AI server production lines in Wisconsin and Texas. Although there are lingering doubts about the commercial path of AI technology and frequent warnings about oversupply, Hon Hai’s performance suggests that, at least in the short term, AI hardware demand remains robust and is growing strongly.

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