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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
GPMI is coming: The new tech that could replace HDMI, DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt
Photo Credit - X: Md Atiquz Zaman A new tech called GPMI has been announced. GPMI stands for General Purpose Media Interface. It's a new type of cable that can do many things with just one wire – like sending video, audio, internet, and even power. GPMI was created by more than 50 Chinese tech companies. Some big companies involved are Hisense, Skyworth, TCL, and others. It could replace popular cables like HDMI, DisplayPort, and Thunderbolt in the future. GPMI can support 8K video, which means super high-quality pictures. It also helps reduce the number of cables needed when connecting devices, as stated by The Indian Express. Type-C GPMI cable – works with USB-C, supports 96 Gbps bandwidth and gives 240W of power. Type-B GPMI cable – uses a special connector, supports 192 Gbps bandwidth and gives 480W of power. Even though the Type-C GPMI is slower than Type-B, it's still more than twice as fast as regular USB4 ports, which usually offer 40 Gbps. So, GPMI is faster, more powerful, and more useful than the current tech like HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB, as mentioned by The Indian Express report. People in the tech world have mixed feelings about GPMI. Big hardware and software companies see that GPMI is powerful. Companies like Huawei and TCL are already using GPMI, showing they trust it. More big companies might start using GPMI soon, according to the report by Allianz Technologies. ALSO READ: Grey's Anatomy's Eric Dane reveals ALS fight — spot the early signs before it's too late China is playing a big role in creating and growing GPMI tech. Chinese companies want the world to start using GPMI. The Chinese government is supporting this move. They want to compete with technology from Western countries, as per the Allianz Technologies. Chinese tech companies are already putting GPMI into their devices. This could help GPMI become popular all over the world. Because of China's involvement, GPMI will likely be cheaper and easier to get. This means both normal people and businesses can use it easily. Big Chinese tech companies supporting GPMI makes it more likely to be used has a bright future but also some problems to solve. One big problem is getting many people and companies to use it. It might be hard to work with old devices and it could cost a lot to add GPMI, as stated by Allianz GPMI is good for new tech like AI, AR/VR, and gaming. It can handle better screen quality, faster speeds, and many devices at once. This makes GPMI ready for future technology needs, as per reports. Q1. What is GPMI?GPMI stands for General Purpose Media Interface. It's a new cable that can send video, audio, internet, and power using just one wire. Q2. Who created GPMI? GPMI was developed by over 50 Chinese tech companies, including Hisense, Skyworth, and TCL.
Economic Times
an hour ago
- Economic Times
Taiwan slaps anti-dumping duties on Chinese beer and steel to shield local industry
Taiwan's Ministry of Finance will impose anti-dumping duties on beer and hot-rolled steel from China for four months, starting next Thursday. This decision follows investigations that found these products were being dumped, causing substantial damage to Taiwan's domestic industry. Tariffs on Chinese beer will range from 13.13% to 64.14%, while steel tariffs will be either 16.9% or 20.15%. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads The Ministry of Finance announced that it will impose anti-dumping duties on beer and hot-rolled steel produced in China for four months starting next Thursday, citing "substantial damage" to Taiwan's industry, as reported by the Taipei to a statement from the finance ministry, both it and the Ministry of Economic Affairs "have tentatively concluded that these products are being dumped and that it has inflicted significant harm on the domestic industry." The finance ministry mentioned that the duties would be applied for four months to "protect our industry from ongoing damage during the investigation," as noted by the Taipei tariffs on Chinese beer will vary from 13.13 per cent to 64.14 per cent, while those for steel will be either 16.9 per cent or 20.15 per cent, the report indicated. In March, the finance ministry initiated anti-dumping investigations into Chinese beer and selected steel products following allegations of unfair currently has anti-dumping duties on ten products, with eight coming from China, its largest trading partner, according to official statistics. The ministry is also assessing whether the low prices of certain Chinese hot-rolled steel products, attributed to "long-standing overcapacity" in production, are negatively impacting domestic businesses, the finance ministry has emerged as the largest export market for Chinese beer brewers, who captured over 70 per cent of the local beer market in the first quarter of this year, according to DPP Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei. In the last five years, Chinese beer exporters have shipped over NT$16 billion (US$548.32 million) worth of products to Taiwan, according to suppliers have harmed local beer producers, and the outcome could be severe if the government fails to implement anti-dumping measures, he cautioned. DPP Legislator Chung Chia-pin reported that local beer firms have experienced a 20 per cent drop in market share, with a 15 per cent decrease in production, leading to a utilisation decline of about 30 per cent. He suggested that this indicates significantly adverse effects on the local beer companies' operations due to Chinese beer 70 per cent of the Taiwanese population reportedly backs the government's decision to impose anti-dumping taxes on Chinese beer manufacturers to maintain market order, as stated by DPP Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen, referencing an unnamed public opinion poll, as cited by the Taipei Times report.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
China's big snub to US, issues license for THIS thing to European countries, Trump left in..., it is...
New Delhi: China has started issuing export licenses for rare earth elements and magnets to European companies. This has been confirmed by the South China Morning Post, citing sources in the European Union. This is being described as a big setback for the USA, as President Donald Trump has been trying his best to get this license from China for the last several months. Apart from this, European governments and companies have been lobbying for several weeks to reduce export restrictions from China. China imposed these restrictions in response to US President Donald Trump's tariffs. Apart from the US, European countries were also included in the Chinese sanctions. What did the Chinese Commerce Ministry say? Earlier on Thursday, June 26, China's Commerce Ministry said that it was 'expediting the approval of rare earth export licenses' for EU firms 'in accordance with the law.' Ministry spokesman He Yadong said, 'China is ready to further enhance communication with relevant countries on export controls, actively facilitating convenient and mutually beneficial trade.' EU sources have certainly said that there is no such thing as a green channel between China and the EU regarding this, but they have seen the Chinese ministry giving export licenses to EU countries and companies. What's next for China and European Union? Next month, a summit of China and the European Union leaders is going to be held. President Xi Jinping, Foreign Minister Wang Yi and senior EU leaders are going to meet in this conference. In such a situation, China's resumption of this license process can lead to easing of tense relations between the two sides. The European Union believes that they are caught in the middle of the trade and technological war of the two superpowers. In such a situation, they need a permanent solution to stay away from these matters. Speaking at a webinar on Thursday, the EU's trade chief for China, Eva Valle Lagares, used sharp words. She said it was 'unclear' whether Beijing had acted like 'killing chickens to scare away monkeys' and the EU had been caught in the crossfire. She was referring to the China-US trade war, which has Europe at its core and is suffering the most as it also faces tariffs from the Donald Trump administration.
