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Economic Times
7 hours ago
- Business
- Economic Times
China AI chip firm Biren raises new funds, plans Hong Kong IPO
Chinese AI chip startup Biren Technology has raised about 1.5 billion yuan ($207 million) in fresh funding and is preparing for a Hong Kong initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said. ADVERTISEMENT The funding round and IPO plan come as China seeks to develop domestic alternatives to U.S. semiconductors amid escalating export restrictions by Washington on advanced chips. Beijing has prioritised building homegrown champions in graphics processing units (GPUs), which are critical for artificial intelligence development. The 1.5 billion yuan funding round was led primarily by state-linked investors, two of the sources said. Participants included a state-backed fund from Guangdong province and another from the Shanghai government, according to one source. Biren initially filed documents for a mainland China listing last year but has since shifted focus to Hong Kong, partly due to stricter regulatory requirements on the mainland including less tolerance for loss-making companies, two of the sources said. The company is preparing to file for a Hong Kong listing in the third quarter, potentially as early as August, one source said. It was not immediately clear if Biren had appointed advisers for the IPO. ADVERTISEMENT Biren was valued at approximately 14 billion yuan prior to the latest funding round, two of the sources said. Biren, and the Guangdong provincial and Shanghai governments, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. ADVERTISEMENT The sources, who spoke to Reuters, declined to be named as the information is not public. Developing domestic GPU capabilities has become critical for China as the U.S. has tightened export restrictions on advanced semiconductors. The latest measures, implemented in April, prompted U.S. chip giant Nvidia to halt sales of its H20 AI chips to Chinese customers. ADVERTISEMENT The potential market for Chinese AI chip companies is substantial. Investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted in a May client note that domestic GPU makers could generate 287 billion yuan in sales by 2027, capturing 70% of the Chinese market compared with 30% last year. Faced upheaval Founded in 2019, Biren's cofounders include Zhang Wen, formerly a president at leading AI face-recognition company SenseTime, and Jiao Guofang, who previously worked at Qualcomm and Huawei. ADVERTISEMENT The company initially drew attention from investors and industry observers in 2022 when it unveiled its first batch of products, including the BR100 chip, which it claimed could match the performance of Nvidia's advanced H100 AI processor. However, the company was added to the U.S. 'Entity List' in 2023, preventing it from using leading global foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to manufacture its chips. Biren has since experienced significant upheaval, with some senior executives departing, including co-founder Xu Lingjie. It continues to operate at a loss and generates limited revenue, recording 400 million yuan in sales in 2024, according to two of the sources. The company's general-purpose GPU products have been deployed across multiple intelligent computing centers, and its partners include China Mobile, China Telecom, ZTE, and the Shanghai AI Laboratory, according to its official website. Some of these companies have also been targeted by U.S. restrictions, including China Mobile and China Telecom, which the Federal Communications Commission said in March it is investigating for potential evasion of U.S. sanctions. Biren also faces intense competition from other Chinese AI chip companies, including Huawei and peers such as Tencent-backed Enflame and Metax.
Time of India
8 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
China AI chip firm Biren raises new funds, plans Hong Kong IPO
Chinese AI chip startup Biren Technology has raised about 1.5 billion yuan ($207 million) in fresh funding and is preparing for a Hong Kong initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said. The funding round and IPO plan come as China seeks to develop domestic alternatives to U.S. semiconductors amid escalating export restrictions by Washington on advanced chips. Beijing has prioritised building homegrown champions in graphics processing units (GPUs), which are critical for artificial intelligence development. The 1.5 billion yuan funding round was led primarily by state-linked investors, two of the sources said. Participants included a state-backed fund from Guangdong province and another from the Shanghai government, according to one source. Biren initially filed documents for a mainland China listing last year but has since shifted focus to Hong Kong, partly due to stricter regulatory requirements on the mainland including less tolerance for loss-making companies, two of the sources said. The company is preparing to file for a Hong Kong listing in the third quarter, potentially as early as August, one source said. It was not immediately clear if Biren had appointed advisers for the IPO. Biren was valued at approximately 14 billion yuan prior to the latest funding round, two of the sources said. Biren, and the Guangdong provincial and Shanghai governments, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The sources, who spoke to Reuters, declined to be named as the information is not public. Developing domestic GPU capabilities has become critical for China as the U.S. has tightened export restrictions on advanced semiconductors. The latest measures, implemented in April, prompted U.S. chip giant Nvidia to halt sales of its H20 AI chips to Chinese customers. The potential market for Chinese AI chip companies is substantial. Investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted in a May client note that domestic GPU makers could generate 287 billion yuan in sales by 2027, capturing 70% of the Chinese market compared with 30% last year. Faced upheaval Founded in 2019, Biren's cofounders include Zhang Wen, formerly a president at leading AI face-recognition company SenseTime, and Jiao Guofang, who previously worked at Qualcomm and Huawei. The company initially drew attention from investors and industry observers in 2022 when it unveiled its first batch of products, including the BR100 chip, which it claimed could match the performance of Nvidia's advanced H100 AI processor. However, the company was added to the U.S. 'Entity List' in 2023, preventing it from using leading global foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to manufacture its chips. Biren has since experienced significant upheaval, with some senior executives departing, including co-founder Xu Lingjie. It continues to operate at a loss and generates limited revenue, recording 400 million yuan in sales in 2024, according to two of the sources. The company's general-purpose GPU products have been deployed across multiple intelligent computing centers, and its partners include China Mobile , China Telecom, ZTE, and the Shanghai AI Laboratory, according to its official website. Some of these companies have also been targeted by U.S. restrictions, including China Mobile and China Telecom, which the Federal Communications Commission said in March it is investigating for potential evasion of U.S. sanctions. Biren also faces intense competition from other Chinese AI chip companies, including Huawei and peers such as Tencent-backed Enflame and Metax.
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
China AI chip firm Biren raises new funds, plans Hong Kong IPO
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills Chinese AI chip startup Biren Technology has raised about 1.5 billion yuan ($207 million) in fresh funding and is preparing for a Hong Kong initial public offering, people familiar with the matter funding round and IPO plan come as China seeks to develop domestic alternatives to U.S. semiconductors amid escalating export restrictions by Washington on advanced has prioritised building homegrown champions in graphics processing units (GPUs), which are critical for artificial intelligence 1.5 billion yuan funding round was led primarily by state-linked investors, two of the sources said. Participants included a state-backed fund from Guangdong province and another from the Shanghai government, according to one initially filed documents for a mainland China listing last year but has since shifted focus to Hong Kong, partly due to stricter regulatory requirements on the mainland including less tolerance for loss-making companies, two of the sources company is preparing to file for a Hong Kong listing in the third quarter, potentially as early as August, one source said. It was not immediately clear if Biren had appointed advisers for the was valued at approximately 14 billion yuan prior to the latest funding round, two of the sources and the Guangdong provincial and Shanghai governments, did not immediately respond to requests for sources, who spoke to Reuters, declined to be named as the information is not domestic GPU capabilities has become critical for China as the U.S. has tightened export restrictions on advanced semiconductors. The latest measures, implemented in April, prompted U.S. chip giant Nvidia to halt sales of its H20 AI chips to Chinese potential market for Chinese AI chip companies is substantial. Investment bank Morgan Stanley predicted in a May client note that domestic GPU makers could generate 287 billion yuan in sales by 2027, capturing 70% of the Chinese market compared with 30% last in 2019, Biren's cofounders include Zhang Wen, formerly a president at leading AI face-recognition company SenseTime, and Jiao Guofang, who previously worked at Qualcomm and company initially drew attention from investors and industry observers in 2022 when it unveiled its first batch of products, including the BR100 chip, which it claimed could match the performance of Nvidia's advanced H100 AI the company was added to the U.S. 'Entity List' in 2023, preventing it from using leading global foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing to manufacture its has since experienced significant upheaval, with some senior executives departing, including co-founder Xu continues to operate at a loss and generates limited revenue, recording 400 million yuan in sales in 2024, according to two of the company's general-purpose GPU products have been deployed across multiple intelligent computing centers, and its partners include China Mobile , China Telecom, ZTE, and the Shanghai AI Laboratory, according to its official of these companies have also been targeted by U.S. restrictions, including China Mobile and China Telecom, which the Federal Communications Commission said in March it is investigating for potential evasion of U.S. also faces intense competition from other Chinese AI chip companies, including Huawei and peers such as Tencent-backed Enflame and Metax.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nvidia challenger Biren secures fresh funding from state-backed investor
Biren Technology, one of China's challengers to Nvidia, raised a new round of funding led by a state-owned fund in Shanghai, as the US-sanctioned artificial intelligence (AI) chip start-up gears up for an initial public offering (IPO) in the country. The company, valued at US$2.2 billion according to the 2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List, secured fresh funding from a private equity entity under Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment (SSCI), according to the investment fund. The latest fundraising also involved other investors, according to a Tuesday statement from the Shanghai SSCI Leading Private Equity (PE) Fund Management, but it did not elaborate on the size of the investments. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform of curated content with explainers, FAQs, analyses and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. It was the first investment made by the AI industry "fund of funds" under SSCI's PE firm, and was considered an important contribution to the AI ecosystem, the investment firm said. Biren's BR100 AI chip. Photo: Handout alt=Biren's BR100 AI chip. Photo: Handout> The move showed Shanghai's determination to build a "fully domestically produced, independent and controllable" computing system, using made-in-China chips to "solidify the foundation of the country's AI industry and its global competitiveness", the SSCI fund said. Biren's backers from earlier rounds include Qiming Venture Partners, IDG Capital and Hillhouse Capital's early-stage venture capital arm GL Ventures. Shanghai-based Biren is seen as one of the country's best hopes for developing graphics processing units (GPUs) to replace advanced chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Under US export controls, the two California-based companies are barred from selling their best GPUs to customers in China. The US Commerce Department added Biren and its Beijing-based rival, Moore Threads, to a trade blacklist in 2023, which prevent them from using the services of world-leading chip foundries, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Biren is seeking an IPO in China, having hired Shanghai's largest brokerage, Guotai Junan Securities, last September to coach company executives on listing-related issues. The tutoring process, which is mandatory for all IPO applicants in China before filing a listing plan, usually takes between three and 12 months. The AI sector has become an active field for investment from both private and government-backed investors in China, after Beijing made AI a national priority amid a heightened tech war between the world's two largest economies. China created a new AI investment fund with an initial capital of 60 billion yuan (US$8.2 billion) in January, days after Washington further tightened export controls for advanced semiconductors and placed more Chinese companies on its trade blacklist. Beijing-based start-up Zhipu AI, which was added to the US blacklist in January, secured 500 million yuan in funding from state-owned Huafa Group, according to an announcement by the Zhuhai-based investor on Thursday. The new financing came days after it raised 1 billion yuan, including funding from the municipal government of Hangzhou, capital of eastern Zhejiang province, where it has set up a subsidiary. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright © 2025 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2025. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Sign in to access your portfolio
South China Morning Post
14-03-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Nvidia challenger Biren secures fresh funding from state-backed investor
Biren Technology, one of China's challengers to Nvidia, raised a new round of funding led by a state-owned fund in Shanghai, as the US-sanctioned artificial intelligence (AI) chip start-up gears up for an initial public offering (IPO) in the country. Advertisement The company, valued at US$2.2 billion according to the 2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List, secured fresh funding from a private equity entity under Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment (SSCI), according to the investment fund. The latest fundraising also involved other investors, according to a Tuesday statement from the Shanghai SSCI Leading Private Equity (PE) Fund Management, but it did not elaborate on the size of the investments. It was the first investment made by the AI industry 'fund of funds' under SSCI's PE firm, and was considered an important contribution to the AI ecosystem, the investment firm said. Biren's BR100 AI chip. Photo: Handout The move showed Shanghai's determination to build a 'fully domestically produced, independent and controllable' computing system, using made-in-China chips to 'solidify the foundation of the country's AI industry and its global competitiveness', the SSCI fund said. Advertisement
