Enflame’s US$900m IPO tests appetite for China’s ‘little dragon’ AI chipmakers
Fuelled by Beijing’s tech self-reliance push, the company is set to test investor confidence in specialised hardware
As Enflame Technology gears up for a 6.12 billion yuan (US$910.3 million) initial public offering on Shanghai’s Star Market, the Chinese artificial intelligence chipmaker must convince investors that its specialised chip strategy can withstand fierce competition from Huawei Technologies and other domestic rivals, while reducing its heavy revenue dependence on major backer Tencent Holdings.
Online and offline subscriptions open on Wednesday, after the Shanghai-based start-up announced on Monday that it would issue 43.04 million shares at 142.18 yuan (US$21.15) apiece.
Moore Threads led the parade with an 8 billion yuan Star Market debut in December, followed by MetaX and Biren, which raised 4.2 billion yuan late last year and HK$7 billion (US$897 million) earlier this year, respectively.