MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co. delivered one of the most dramatic stock market debuts in China in recent years, underscoring intense investor enthusiasm for domestic artificial intelligence chipmakers amid Beijing’s push for semiconductor self-sufficiency.
Shares of the company surged as much as 755% intraday on Wednesday after its initial public offering, giving it the strongest first-day performance among Chinese IPOs raising between $500 million and $1 billion over the past decade.
MetaX raised about $585.8 million in the listing, pricing shares at 104.66 yuan before they climbed to more than 835 yuan during trading.
Record-breaking IPO demand
Demand for the offering was exceptionally strong, with the retail tranche oversubscribed by 2,986 times, exceeding even the recent blockbuster debut of Moore Threads Technology Co., whose IPO earlier this month was oversubscribed by 2,750 times.
The sharp rally is likely to attract investors who failed to secure allocations through China’s highly competitive IPO lottery system.
The debut put MetaX’s market capitalization at more than 300 billion yuan, bringing it close to Moore Threads’ valuation of about 337 billion yuan.
MetaX’s price-to-sales ratio stands at 56.4, below the average of 127.4 for peers including Cambricon Technologies Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., based on the company’s exchange filing.
Chinese IPOs have shown unusually strong performance this year, averaging a 250% gain on the first trading day, according to Bloomberg data.
Analysts attribute part of the surge to regulatory controls that have limited the number of new listings, helping to concentrate liquidity in individual deals.
Softer risk appetite in the secondary market has also made IPOs attractive as a perceived short-term source of returns.
Betting on China’s AI chip ambitions
Like Moore Threads, MetaX designs graphics processing units used in artificial intelligence workloads, gaming, and advanced visualization.
The sector has become a focal point for investors as US export restrictions limit Chinese access to Nvidia Corp.’s most advanced AI chips.
MetaX said in its prospectus that its AI-focused Xiyun C500 series accounted for nearly 98% of revenue in 2024 and claimed performance comparable to Nvidia’s A100.
The newer C588 generation has narrowed the gap with Nvidia’s H100, according to the company.
MetaX estimates it captured about 1% of China’s AI chip market last year, citing industry consultancy data.
Investors are increasingly viewing companies like MetaX as potential national champions.
“The theme of domestic substitution will continue to drive strong growth,” said Zhang Kexing, a partner at Beijing Gelei Asset Management Center, adding that some firms could eventually reach valuations of 1 trillion yuan.
Broader market impact and outlook
MetaX’s listing capped a busy day for Asian IPOs, alongside market debuts by Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange HashKey Holdings Ltd., Japan’s SBI Shinsei Bank Ltd., and Indonesia’s digital banking firm PT Super Bank Indonesia. Among them, only HashKey traded below its IPO price.
The surge has also added momentum to a broader rally in Chinese chip stocks, with companies such as Beijing Onmicro Electronics Co. more than doubling on debut earlier in the week.
Several large semiconductor firms, including ChangXin Memory Technologies Inc. and Yangtze Memory Technologies Co., are widely expected to pursue listings that could value them at up to 300 billion yuan.
MetaX’s roots trace back to Advanced Micro Devices, with three key founding members — including Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Chen Weiliang — having previously worked at the US chipmaker.
Analysts say its debut reflects both strong growth expectations and confidence that China will continue building a more self-sufficient semiconductor ecosystem as geopolitical tensions persist.
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