‘China’s Nvidia’ Moore Threads surges more than 400% on Shanghai debut

Shares of Moore Threads, a Beijing-based GPU maker often described as “China’s Nvidia,” jumped more than 400% on their first day of trading in Shanghai after the company completed a $1.1 billion IPO.

The stock opened sharply higher and was last trading at 584.98 yuan, over five times its issue price of 114.28 yuan, marking one of the strongest market debuts for a semiconductor company in China this year.

The IPO was led by CITIC Securities, with BOC International Securities, China Merchants Securities and GF Securities acting as joint book runners.

Moore Threads, which is still not profitable, said proceeds will be used to accelerate research and development, including new generations of AI training and inference GPU chips. Part of the funds will also go toward working capital as the company scales production.

The strong listing comes despite U.S. sanctions imposed in 2023 that restricted the firm’s access to advanced chip manufacturing technologies and overseas foundries. The company has become a leading name among China's growing group of domestic chip developers, as Beijing pushes to lessen dependence on American technologies.

Other local competitors in the AI chip sector include Huawei and Cambricon, whose shares have already gained more than 100% this year. New entrants such as Enflame Technology and Biren Technology are also expanding, aiming to serve rising GPU demand after both Washington and Beijing tightened restrictions on Nvidia’s high-end chips.

Chinese regulators have been approving more semiconductor listings in recent months, part of a broader strategy to build stronger domestic capacity in AI hardware and reduce vulnerability to export controls.