Chinese chip startup Shanghai Biren Intelligent Technology Co. is Watch Vanguard Onlineconsidering an IPO in Hong Kong this year, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. The move aims to take full advantage of the increasing demand for its AI chips as a substitute for Nvidia’s banned products. The company is planning to file for the IPO in the coming weeks and is now engaged in discussions with investors, including state-backed funds in Guangzhou, for a separate funding round that could raise approximately 2 billion yuan ($279 million), according to sources. The specific details of the IPO, such as its size, are yet to be determined. Biren, established in 2019, specializes in graphics processing units and cloud computing and has released its first general-purpose graphics processing unit in August 2022. As of March 2021, it has secured around 4.7 billion yuan ($651 million) in funding from investors like IDG Capital, Ping An Insurance Group, and China Merchants Capital. [Bloomberg]
