(Yicai) Dec. 22 -- Biren Intelligent Technology aims to raise up to HKD4.9 billion (USD630 million) in a Hong Kong initial public offering, becoming the third Chinese graphics processing unit maker to pursue a listing after Moore Threads Technology and MetaX Integrated Circuits, the Shanghai-based company, which is vying for market share from Nvidia, announced today.

The move underscores growing momentum among domestic GPU developers to tap capital markets as demand for artificial intelligence computing accelerates. Biren plans to issue 247.7 million shares at an indicative price range of HKD17 to HKD19.6 (USD2.20 to USD2.50) per share, translating into total proceeds of between HKD4.2 billion and HKD4.9 billion, according to its latest prospectus filed with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The company is scheduled to debut on the exchange on Jan. 2 next year. Of the funds raised, 85 percent will be allocated to research and development of intelligent computing solutions. This includes 45 percent earmarked for hardware development, covering upgrades to existing products and the development of next-generation general-purpose GPU chips, and 40 percent for software platform development, including the expansion of artificial intelligence training and inference models. The remainder will be used for commercialization and general corporate purposes, the prospectus said.

Founded in 2019, Biren focuses on general-purpose GPUs and GPU-based intelligent computing solutions that provide foundational computing power for AI applications. Heavy research and development spending has kept the company in the red. In the first half of this year, Biren posted a net loss of CNY1.6 billion (USD227.3 million), up 80 percent from a year earlier, while revenue rose 50 percent year on year to CNY58.9 million (USD8.4 million), according to the filing.

Biren follows Beijing-based Moore Threads, which listed on Shanghai’s Star Market on Dec. 5 and raised CNY8 billion, and Shanghai-based MetaX, which debuted on the Star Market on Dec. 17 with CNY4.2 billion in proceeds. Shares of both companies surged on their first trading day, rising 425 percent and 693 percent, respectively.

Like its peers, Biren faces intense competition from global chipmakers. The prospectus shows that Nvidia held a 76 percent share of China’s intelligent computing chip market last year, and as much as 98 percent in the general-purpose GPU segment. By comparison, Biren’s market share stood at 0.16 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively.

Still, the company is betting on rapid market expansion. With AI adoption accelerating, China’s intelligent computing chip market is expected to grow from USD30.1 billion last year to USD201.2 billion by 2029, implying a compound annual growth rate of 46 percent. Within this, the general-purpose GPU market is projected to expand from USD23.5 billion to USD172.3 billion over the same period, with a CAGR of 49 percent, Biren said in its prospectus.

Editor: Emmi Laine