Biren’s shares closed at HK$34.46, representing a 76% gain over the offer price of HK$19.60. The stock opened at HK$35.70, climbed to an intraday high of HK$42.88, and significantly outperformed the benchmark Hang Seng Index, which rose 2.8% on the day.
Trading activity was robust, with Biren ranking as the third most actively traded stock by turnover on the Hong Kong exchange. About 150.7 million shares worth HK$5.52 billion (approximately $707.7 million) changed hands.
The strong market debut builds on momentum from a buoyant 2025 for Hong Kong’s equity market and signals growing investor appetite for chipmakers and AI-focused companies, as China accelerates efforts to strengthen domestic technology capabilities amid U.S. export restrictions.
“Chinese AI startups are going public faster than U.S. giants thanks to supportive domestic policy, clear paths to revenues from enterprise customers, and most importantly, a valuation small enough for the current IPO market,” said Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at NYU School of Law and former head of North America for China’s sovereign wealth fund, CIC.
Biren raised HK$5.58 billion through the sale of 284.8 million H shares, pricing the offering at the top of its marketed range. Exchange filings showed institutional demand was nearly 26 times the shares available, while the retail portion was oversubscribed by about 2,348 times. At the offer price, the company’s market capitalisation stood at HK$46.9 billion.
Founded in 2019, Biren develops general-purpose graphics processing units (GPUs) and intelligent computing systems used in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing. The company came into the spotlight in 2022 with its BR100 chip, promoted as a domestic alternative to advanced processors produced by U.S. AI leader Nvidia.
Biren’s co-founders include Zhang Wen, a former president at SenseTime, and Jiao Guofang, who previously worked at Qualcomm and Huawei. According to its prospectus, most of the IPO proceeds will be directed toward research and development as well as commercialisation efforts.
The prospectus also highlighted potential risks stemming from U.S. export controls, noting that Biren was added to Washington’s Entity List in October 2023, limiting its access to certain technologies. Competition within the sector was cited as a challenge, while China’s policy push for technological self-sufficiency was identified as a key growth opportunity.
Cornerstone investors in the offering include 3W Fund, Qiming Venture Partners and Ping An Life Insurance. Commenting on the listing, Qiming Venture Partners managing partner Alex Zhou said it marked “a key phase in the company’s growth” and reflected the evolution of China’s tech entrepreneurship toward original innovation.
AI and Tech IPO Pipeline Expands
Hong Kong raised as much as $36.5 billion from 114 new listings in 2025, its strongest year since 2021 and more than three times the amount raised in the previous year, according to LSEG data. Much of that rebound was driven by AI and semiconductor offerings, a trend expected to continue into 2026.
On January 1 alone, seven companies submitted listing applications to the Hong Kong Exchange. Among them was xTool Innovate, which filed for a main board listing and appointed Morgan Stanley and Huatai Financial Holdings as overall coordinators.
Separately, Chinese search giant Baidu confirmed that its AI chip unit, Kunlunxin, has filed a Hong Kong IPO application, following earlier reports. Other AI firms and chipmakers, including Zhipu AI and Iluvatar CoreX, are scheduled to debut on January 8.
“Whether the Hong Kong AI IPO boom is sustainable will depend on global investor participation,” Ma said, pointing to the role of overseas capital in backing a potential shift in global AI leadership.