According to reports, Kunlun Core has initiated preparations for a listing in Hong Kong and plans to file its IPO application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as early as the first quarter of 2026, aiming to complete the IPO by early 2027. The company’s valuation in its latest funding round has reached approximately RMB 21 billion (about USD 2.97 billion).
Amid an accelerating global race for computing power and intensifying competition within the semiconductor supply chain, Baidu's AI chip subsidiary, Kunlun Core, is expediting its move toward public markets.
On Friday, media reports citing multiple sources revealed that Kunlun Core has begun preparations for a listing in Hong Kong and plans to submit its IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as early as the first quarter of 2026, with the goal of completing the IPO by early 2027. The company’s valuation in its latest funding round has reached approximately RMB 21 billion (about USD 2.97 billion).
Following the news, the stock price of $BIDU-SW (09888.HK)$ Hong Kong stocks surged sharply during intraday trading, rising nearly 8% at one point.
JPMorgan believes that Baidu's investment narrative is undergoing a fundamental shift: the company is transitioning from a traditional search advertising business to an AI infrastructure provider. It is expected that sales of Kunlun chips and demand for GPU computing will significantly boost revenue growth. JPMorgan forecasts that Baidu’s Kunlun chip revenue will soar from approximately RMB 1.3 billion in 2025 to RMB 8.3 billion in 2026, representing a sixfold increase.
Valuations continue to rise amid surging investor enthusiasm.
The report stated that, according to informed sources, Kunlun Core completed its latest funding round within the past six months, raising over RMB 2 billion. Investors included funds related to China Mobile and other private equity firms. This funding round valued the company at approximately RMB 21 billion, up from RMB 18 billion in the previous round.
Investor enthusiasm for the AI chip sector has been growing rapidly. On Friday, the 'first domestically produced GPU stock' $Moore Threads Technology (688795.SH)$ The stock price soared to more than five times the issue price on its debut at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, signaling strong investor enthusiasm for AI computing power concepts. Analysts believe this market sentiment also creates a more favorable window for Kunlun Chip's potential IPO.
In addition to Kunlun Chip, MuXi Corporation is also expected to enter the capital markets in the coming weeks... Domestic AI chip companies are lining up to enter the public market, indicating a significant acceleration in the capitalization process of this sector.
From 'internal operations' to 'external markets'
Kunlun Chip was founded in 2012 as Baidu’s internal AI chip R&D department, primarily providing computing power support for Baidu’s search, cloud computing, and autonomous driving businesses. In recent years, Kunlun Chip has gradually moved toward independent operations. Although Baidu still holds a controlling stake, the company is striving to reduce its reliance on its parent firm and expand its external customer base.
Over the past two years, Kunlun Chip has intensified its external sales efforts, expanding its client base from internet companies to state-owned enterprises and local government data center projects. Its latest product, the P800 chip, gained significant recognition this year and is mainly used in government and enterprise-led data center construction.
In terms of financial performance, Kunlun Chip is still in the 'investment for scale' phase. In 2024, the company reported revenue of approximately RMB 2 billion with a net loss of about RMB 200 million. However, investment materials indicate that by 2025, over half of the company’s revenue is expected to come from external customers. Revenue this year is projected to exceed RMB 3.5 billion, with the company expected to reach break-even. This turning point is critical to its IPO narrative.
New Product Roadmap Targets Both Training and Inference Markets
In terms of technological development, Kunlun Chip is actively expanding its product portfolio.
Last month, the company unveiled two new AI chips: the M100 and the M300. The M100 focuses on inference scenarios and is scheduled for official release in early 2026; the M300 targets higher performance needs, supporting both training and inference tasks, with an anticipated launch in early 2027.
This indicates that Kunlun Core's ambition is not limited to the edge inference market but extends to securing a significant position in the higher-value AI training compute domain. Currently, the demand for high-performance chips domestically is rapidly expanding, providing a rare growth window for companies like Kunlun Core.
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