US-sanctioned Moore Threads, China’s AI chip unicorn, moves closer to possible IPO

The GPU and AI-accelerator start-up, founded by an Nvidia veteran, has become a joint-stock company after fresh investments

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Moore Threads is one of China’s top GPU designers. Photo: Handout

Published: 5:00pm, 11 Nov 2024

A Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer, founded by a veteran of Nvidia’s mainland operations, has become a joint-stock company that paves the way for its initial public offering (IPO), even as the US continues to tighten tech restrictions.

The capital base of Moore Threads Technology, a Beijing-based graphics processing unit (GPU) start-up, on October 29 swelled to 330 million yuan (US$46 million) from 24 million yuan previously, while its corporate status was changed to a joint-stock company from a limited-liability company, according to data from corporate registry information provider Qichacha.

Such a change is usually a precursor for a planned debut on the stock market.

Moore Threads declined to comment on Monday.

Zhang Jianzhong, CEO and founder of Moore Threads. Photo: Handout

The company has drawn the interest of private and government investors, benefiting from China’s growing self-sufficiency drive aimed at building the nation’s capability to manufacture its own advanced chips. US sanctions have restricted shipments of Nvidia’s top GPUs used for training AI systems to the mainland, which remains the California-based chip designer’s third-largest market by revenue.