China’s AI chip goals got off to a great start in the new year. Shanghai Biren Technology’s stock price jumped 82% on its first day of trading in Hong Kong, beating all other extensive listings and showing that the city’s stock market is picking up again.
When the IPO price was set at HK$19.60, the top end of the range, Biren’s shares finished at HK$34.46. Biren makes graphics processing units for training and executing AI models. During the day, the stock rose as much as 119% before giving up part of its gains.
The offering raised HK$5.58 billion (about $717 million), and the retail portion was oversubscribed by more than 2,300 times, underscoring investor demand.
This result is the best first-day increase for a Hong Kong offering that raised at least $700 million since Kuaishou Technology’s 161% surge in 2021. It is far higher than the weighted average first-day gain of over 23% for listings of similar size from 2020 to 2025.
Biren’s launch was also the third-most actively traded stock on the exchange by turnover, indicating how excited people are about domestic AI and semiconductor stocks.
The surge comes at a time when China is speeding up its efforts to develop its own chips, amid persistent U.S. export restrictions and government incentives that could be worth up to $70 billion to the industry.
Biren, which first made headlines in 2022 with its BR100 chip meant to compete with high-end U.S. processors, wants to devote most of its profits to research, development, and marketing of its computer products. The corporation lost 1.6 billion yuan in the first half of the year due to heavy spending on research and development.
Baidu Moves Forward with Plans for Kunlunxin Spin-Off
Baidu stated on Friday that it would proceed with a Hong Kong spin-off to list its AI chip business, Kunlunxin. This move shows how hot the sector is. The unit submitted a listing application to the Hong Kong exchange in secret on January 1. They want to raise 21 billion yuan (approximately $3 billion).
Kunlunxin started as an internal Baidu division focused on AI chips in 2012. It has since become independent, but Baidu still owns a controlling share. It mainly sells chips to Baidu, though in recent years it has also started selling to other companies.
The proposed IPO would let Kunlunxin showcase its business independently, attract specialised AI semiconductor investors, expand funding options, and ensure management’s incentives are more closely tied to success.
Baidu said the Kunlunxin IPO does not have a set date yet and that the spin-off is still awaiting approvals and final decisions, so it is not guaranteed to happen.
Hong Kong’s AI IPO Has a Bigger Wave of Effects
Biren’s good start raises the bar for other AI-related listings, such as MiniMax Group and Knowledge Atlas Technology (Zhipu), both of which are due to enter the market next week. Hong Kong’s stock market had a strong year in 2025, raising $36.5 billion from 114 new listings. This was its biggest year since 2021 and more than three times the $11.3 billion it made in 2024.
The rise in AI and chip offerings shows that investors believe in China’s push for greater technological development, even as trade tensions remain high worldwide.
Biren’s performance and Baidu’s Kunlunxin move both suggest that companies helping China become more self-sufficient in key semiconductors and artificial intelligence will continue to do deals in Hong Kong. The city’s market looks set to remain a vital place to capitalize on China’s digital goals in 2026, as more companies are poised to go public.
