Jan 30 (Reuters) – Chinese artificial intelligence chipmaker Axera Semiconductor is aiming to raise HK$2.96 billion ($379.2 million) in an initial public offering in Hong Kong, a regulatory filing showed on Friday.
The proceeds are earmarked for upgrading its technology platform and developing new products, as well as sales expansion, potential equity investments or acquisitions and working capital and general corporate purposes, the filing said.
Axera, formerly Shanghai Zhiaixin Semiconductor Technology, is backed by investors including Qiming Venture Partners and Tencent, is offering 104.9 million shares at HK$28.20 each, according to the filing.
Cornerstone investors for the offering include OmniVision Integrated Circuits’ unit WILL semiconductor and JSC International Investment Fund SPC.
Axera’s IPO comes at a time when Chinese AI and semiconductor firms are increasingly turning to Hong Kong to fund capital intensive chip development and broaden commercial adoption, as demand grows for “AI inference”, the running of models trained to recognise patterns and make decisions, to shift from cloud servers onto devices such as cameras, industrial equipment and cars.
Founded in 2019, Axera is a fabless chip designer focused on AI inference system-on-chips used in on-device computing, edge inference and smart vehicles, the prospectus said. The company’s processors help cameras and vehicles process visual data in real time.
Axera said it was the largest provider of mid-to-high-end visual on-device AI inference chips globally by shipments in 2024, citing research firm China Insights Industry Consultancy (CIC) in the filing.
For the first nine months of 2025, its revenue rose 5.8% to 269.0 million yuan ($38.7 million) from 254.2 million yuan a year earlier, while net loss widened to 855.7 million yuan from 691.0 million yuan, the filing showed.
CICC, Guotai Junan International and BOCOM International are sponsors of the IPO.
($1 = 7.8053 Hong Kong dollars)
($1 = 6.9480 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru and Yantoultra Ngui in Singapore; Editing by Pooja Desai and Varun H K)
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