Catenaa, Friday, December 05, 2025- Moore Threads Technology, a leading Chinese AI chipmaker rival to Nvidia, jumped 425% in its Shanghai trading debut after raising $1.13 billion on Friday.
The IPO drew strong investor interest, with the retail portion oversubscribed by approximately 2,750 times, even after a clawback.
Its debut doubled that of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.’s 202% surge in 2020 to secure the top spot among IPOs larger than $1 billion.
Moore Threads’ listing comes as optimism over China’s drive for tech self-sufficiency intensifies, fueled by trade tensions and fears of US technology curbs.
Earlier this year, regulators eased listing rules for unprofitable firms on the Nasdaq-style Star Board to bolster homegrown startups.
The Beijing-based company has emerged as a contender alongside Cambricon Technologies and Huawei Technologies in the race to fill a market share voice left after Nvidia’s forced exit.
Baidu is also considering listing an AI chip unit to tap investor interest as it competes with the US giant.
Moore Threads’ share frenzy stands out in an otherwise sluggish market, signaling strong investor appetite in specific sectors like this year’s AI winners.
Proceeds from the IPO will fund next-generation projects in AI and graphics chips as well as supplement working capital. The offering is the year’s second-largest onshore IPO, trailing only Huadian New Energy Group $2.7 billion listing in July.
Founded in 2020 by former Nvidia executive Zhang Jianzhong, Moore Threads had started out earning revenue from graphics chips for gaming and visual rendering before pivoting to AI accelerators used in powering large language models.
A major setback occurred in October 2023 when the US Commerce Department added the firm to its Entity List, barring access to key technologies, which resulted in job cuts and restructuring.
