(China Daily) Iluvatar CoreX is considering an initial public offering in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, amid investor interest in Chinese mainland artificial intelligence chipmakers.  

Shanghai Tianshu Zhixin Semiconductor Co, as the Centurium Capital-backed firm is formally known, is working with advisers on the potential share sale that could raise $300 million to $400 million, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked to speak on anonymity.

Deliberations are preliminary and details such as size of the possible IPO are subject to change, the people said. Iluvatar CoreX, which makes the graphics processing units that are crucial to running AI services, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Iluvatar CoreX joins a pipeline of Chinese AI companies looking to go public in the HKSAR to tap investor interest in the sector.  

The HKSAR’s market has picked up this year, with the emergence of DeepSeek spurring a rotation into the mainland stocks and helping to fuel a near 28 percent rally by the Hang Seng Index.

Others planning IPOs in the HKSAR include MiniMax and Zhipu. Chipmaker Shanghai Biren Intelligent Technology Co is in the queue too, people with knowledge of the matter said. Biren didn’t respond to requests for comment.  

Iluvatar CoreX is one of several startups vying to make chips to boost the mainland’s semiconductor capabilities. Founded in 2015, the company raised 1.2 billion yuan ($167 million) in a funding round in 2021 led by Centurium and Cedarlake Capital. Another round in 2022 included Beijing Financial Street Capital and Hopu and raised 1 billion yuan. 

Source: China Daily by Bloomberg Published: 01:45, August 13, 2025 | Updated: 02:48, August 13, 2025