MetaX Integrated Circuits, a young semiconductor company based in Shanghai, has become the new sensation in the Chinese markets. Specializing in AI GPUs, the company has garnered even more interest among retail investors than its rival Moore Threads as it approaches its IPO.
According to information filed with the stock exchange, MetaX attracted 5.17 million retail investors in its online subscription, resulting in an final allocation rate of just 0.033%. Moore Threads, which went public the previous Friday, gathered 4.82 million investors, with an allocation rate of 0.036%.
Founded in 2020, MetaX is seen as one of China’s major hopes to develop chips capable of competing with NVIDIA’s high-performance processors, a key component in the current boom of generative AI. The company plans to raise 4.2 billion yuan (around $594 million) in its IPO, with a initial offering price of 104.66 yuan per share, valuing the company at approximately 41.9 billion yuan.
The investor frenzy reflects how much Beijing’s push for technological self-sufficiency, especially in semiconductors, is fueling a genuine fever for local sector stocks. Amid the ongoing tech clash between the U.S. and China, individual investors across the continent are seeking profitability in companies they consider strategic for the country’s future.
MetaX’s flagship product is its general-purpose processor C600, unveiled in July. This chip integrates high-bandwidth HBM3e memory and supports FP8 precision, a format that allows faster AI model training with lower energy consumption. The company states that it is a “fully domestically manufactured” chip and plans to begin mass production in the first half of 2026.
Among its shareholders are some of China’s most prominent venture capital funds, including HongShan Capital Group (formerly Sequoia China), Matrix Partners China, CTC Capital, ZhenFund, and Lightspeed China Partners, as well as state-backed entities like the Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Fund and the Pudong District Fund.
Chinese authorities have been pushing private capital towards the goal of technological self-sufficiency for years, with a particular focus on semiconductors. MetaX and other chip designers such as Enflame and Biren Technology aim to follow Moore Threads’ lead by listing on Shanghai or Hong Kong stock exchanges, vying to become “China’s NVIDIA.”
On the Shanghai Star Market, where such companies are listed, institutional investors receive proportional allocations, while retail investors participate through a lottery-like system.
The precedent set by Moore Threads helps explain the current enthusiasm. Despite the overall poor market tone, its shares started trading on Friday at 650 yuan, a jump of 468% from the IPO price of 114.28 yuan. Each investor allocated 500 shares earned nearly 270,000 yuan on the debut. The company raised 8 billion yuan (about $1.13 billion), making it the second-largest IPO of the year in mainland China.
However, MetaX remains in the red due to high R&D expenses and NVIDIA’s entrenched position in China’s market. In 2024, it reported net losses of 1.4 billion yuan, despite increasing its revenue over tenfold to 743.1 million yuan. For the first nine months of 2025, the company posted a loss of 345.5 million yuan, although its revenue grew by over 400% year-over-year. The company itself has indicated that it does not expect to reach breakeven before 2026.
via: SCMP