Baidu AI Chip Unit Kunlunxin Plans Hong Kong IPO in 2027
Kunlunxin, the artificial intelligence (AI) chip division of Chinese internet giant Baidu, is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong with a target completion date of early 2027. The company recently completed a funding round that valued the business at 21 billion yuan, equivalent to approximately 2.97 billion US dollars.
The chip maker raised over two billion yuan in its latest financing round from investors including a China Mobile fund and several private backers. This represents an increase from its previous valuation of 18 billion yuan. Sources familiar with the matter indicate that Kunlunxin plans to submit its listing application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as early as the first quarter of 2026.
Founded in 2012 as an internal business unit dedicated to developing AI chips for Baidu’s operations, Kunlunxin has since evolved into an independently operated company. Baidu maintains a controlling ownership stake in the business. The company initially focused on supplying chips exclusively to Baidu but has progressively expanded its customer base over the past two years to include external clients.
Kunlunxin anticipates revenue exceeding 3.5 billion yuan for 2025 and expects to reach break-even status during the same period. This marks significant progress from 2024 when the company recorded a net loss of roughly 200 million yuan against revenue of approximately two billion yuan. More than half of the projected 2025 revenue is expected to originate from sales to external customers rather than internal Baidu operations.
The company’s flagship product, the P800 chip, has gained market acceptance throughout the current year, primarily serving data center projects developed by state-owned enterprises and government entities. In November, Kunlunxin announced two additional AI chip products set for future release. The M100, designed specifically for inference tasks, is scheduled to launch in early 2026. The M300, capable of handling both training and inference workloads, is slated for release in early 2027.
The planned public offering occurs as China intensifies efforts to develop domestic alternatives to American semiconductors amid tightening export restrictions from Washington on advanced chip technology. The United States has implemented barriers preventing sales of Nvidia’s latest generation chips to Chinese buyers, making domestic GPU capabilities increasingly critical for Beijing’s technological ambitions.
Kunlunxin joins a growing queue of Chinese chip manufacturers pursuing public listings. Moore Threads, which produces graphics processing units utilized in AI computing applications, recently made its debut on the Shanghai Stock Exchange at a price exceeding five times its initial public offering value. MetaX is anticipated to begin trading in the coming weeks, while Biren Technology, which faces US blacklist restrictions, is also preparing for a Hong Kong listing.
