According to China Daily, February 12, 2026
China’s domestic AI chip industry is entering a pivotal growth phase, marked by a flurry of initial public offerings and rapid technological advancements. The surge is driven by strong domestic demand, escalating government support for self-reliant high-tech infrastructure, and increasing market opportunities resulting from global export restrictions on US chipmakers. Leading GPU firms such as Enflame Technology, Moore Threads, MetaX, and Biren Technology are now converging on China’s STAR Market and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, signaling a strategic consolidation in the capital markets.
IPO Momentum and Market Expansion
The listing momentum began in late 2025 and continues into 2026. Shanghai-based Enflame Technology recently had its IPO application accepted on the STAR Market, while Iluvatar CoreX successfully went public on Hong Kong’s main board. Moore Threads and MetaX had already debuted on the STAR Market, attracting significant investor interest.
Tech giants are following suit: Baidu plans to spin off its AI chip subsidiary Kunlunxin for an independent listing, and Alibaba is reportedly exploring a similar move for its T-Head unit. This wave of public offerings is not just about fundraising; it represents a strategic step to capture technology iteration advantages, customer loyalty, and brand recognition during a formative period in China’s domestic AI chip ecosystem.
Domestic Capacity and Performance Metrics
China’s push for self-sufficiency in AI processors is gaining tangible traction. By mid-2025, at least nine domestic chip companies had surpassed 10,000 units in order shipments, indicating growing market adoption based on performance, reliability, and cost competitiveness.
Major players include Huawei’s Ascend series, Baidu’s Kunlunxin, Alibaba’s T-Head, and specialists such as Cambricon, Moore Threads, Enflame, and Iluvatar CoreX. Startups like Sunrise and Tsingmicro have also reached the 10,000-unit milestone. Leading companies such as Huawei, Baidu, and Alibaba are shipping several hundred thousand chips annually, demonstrating scale and market penetration.
Domestic AI chip shipments in the first half of 2025 reached over 1.9 million units, with a market value of $16 billion. While Nvidia continues to dominate high-end AI training markets with around 62% market share, Chinese chips captured approximately 35%, primarily in vertical sectors such as government, finance, industry, and healthcare, where cost-performance considerations are critical.
Strategic Drivers and Technology Trends
Two key drivers underpin the domestic AI chip surge:
Policy and Market Support: China’s national focus on autonomous and controllable computing capabilities in AI and high-end manufacturing creates strong government backing and market incentives.
Global Geopolitics: U.S. export restrictions on advanced chips, including Nvidia GPUs, have opened opportunities for domestic alternatives to capture market share.
Experts note that domestic AI chips are closing the technical gap with foreign competitors in areas such as architecture and performance. However, challenges remain in ecosystem compatibility. For instance, Nvidia’s CUDA framework has a long-established advantage for AI large language model applications, which domestic chips are actively addressing through alternative compatibility layers.
Industry Outlook
China’s domestic AI chip sector is poised for explosive growth. Analysts predict a dual-track market: high-end AI workloads will continue to rely on Nvidia’s technological edge, while domestic GPUs will dominate cost-sensitive and vertical applications, leveraging policy support, localized services, and security advantages.
The STAR Market and Hong Kong Stock Exchange have provided streamlined pathways for “hard tech” firms, supporting rapid capital formation and visibility. Continuous investments in AI infrastructure, combined with strategic emphasis on technological self-reliance, indicate that China’s AI chip ecosystem will expand both in scale and influence globally.
Zhang Wen, CEO of Biren Technology, emphasized, “The production capacity of advanced domestic AI chips will be crucial for the future of China’s AI industry, enabling both innovation and industrial sovereignty.”