MetaX ignites the Shanghai stock exchange: record debut for China’s new AI chip champion

The GPU startup soars +693% on its IPO day, surpassing all precedents of the past decade and confirming market euphoria in China for semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co. made a triumphant stock market debut, delivering one of the most spectacular IPO performances in the recent history of Chinese markets. On its first trading day in Shanghai, the stock surged by 693% after raising $585.8 million through its initial public offering. This marks the best stock market debut in China over the past ten years for IPOs sized between $500 million and $1 billion.

MetaX’s success follows that of Moore Threads Technology, another young star in the sector, and confirms investor enthusiasm for domestic chipmakers, seen as potential “national champions” capable of competing with Nvidia, whose most advanced products remain inaccessible to the Chinese market due to U.S. restrictions. Demand was overwhelming: the retail tranche of the IPO was nearly 3,000 times oversubscribed, surpassing even Moore Threads.

With the offering price set at 104.66 yuan per share, the rally pushed MetaX’s market capitalization beyond 332 billion yuan, nearly on par with Moore Threads. The company, founded by a team with strong roots at AMD - including CEO Chen Weiliang - designs GPUs for artificial intelligence workloads, gaming, and advanced visualization. In 2024, the Xiyun C500 series, compared to Nvidia’s A100, generated around 98% of revenues.

The debut lifted the entire sector: the Star 50 index rose 2.5%, while ChiNext gained 3.4%. In a context of IPOs tightly regulated by authorities and strong appetite for new listings, MetaX has become the symbol of a new Chinese rush into chips and AI.

Andrea Pelucchi