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MetaX set for Shanghai debut amid market frenzy over AI chip stocks, Nvidia uncertainty
The Shanghai-based graphics processing unit designer plans to raise US$596 million from the sale of 40.1 million shares
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Chinese artificial intelligence chip designer MetaX Integrated Circuits will make its trading debut in Shanghai on Wednesday, according to a filing late on Monday, more than a week after industry peer Moore Threads Technology’s stellar listing on the city’s Star Market.
Founded in Shanghai in September 2020 by former engineers at Advanced Micro Devices, MetaX priced its initial public offering at 104.66 yuan per share, which was expected to raise 4.2 billion yuan (US$596 million) from the sale of 40.1 million shares, with net proceeds estimated to reach 3.9 billion. That was the second-highest share price offer this year on the Nasdaq-style Star Market, behind Moore Threads’ 114.28 yuan.
Based on its offer price, MetaX’s implied market capitalisation stood at about 37.7 billion yuan. That was nearly 79 per cent higher compared with its pre-IPO valuation of 21.07 billion yuan in March.
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The funds raised would be used for the “development and industrialisation of next-generation, high-performance general-purpose” graphics processing units (GPUs), as well as GPUs for the more demanding AI inferencing tasks.
Investors’ high expectations for the MetaX IPO underscore China’s drive for semiconductor self-sufficiency and AI innovation as part of its 15th five-year plan amid the heightened tech war between Beijing and Washington.
Another Chinese GPU start-up, Biren Technology, was gearing up for an IPO in Hong Kong.
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