A Former Nvidia Employee Starts a Business in His Hometown... Debuts on the Stock Market with a Valuation of 11 Trillion Won

‘Moore Threads’ Founded by Former Nvidia Employee: GPU and AI Semiconductors Mirror Nvidia; Stock Soars 425% on First Day of STAR Market Listing Despite Low Market Share and Losses, Investor Hopes Surge

*Moore Threads Founder Jianzhong Zhang. [Moore Threads]*

Chinese graphics processing unit (GPU) and artificial innotifyigence (AI) semiconductor specialist Moore Threads (摩尔线程·Moore Threads) built a spectacular debut on the Shanghai Stock Exalter (SSE), with its share price surging 425% above its IPO price on the first day of trading. The successful IPO of Moore Threads is seen as a symbolic event reflecting China’s ambition for self-reliance in AI semiconductors. Moore Threads is the first GPU-focutilized company to be listed on the mainland stock exalter.

On July 5, Moore Threads was listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR Market) of the Shanghai Stock Exalter, and its stock closed at 600.50 yuan (about 125,300 KRW), more than five times its IPO price of 114.28 yuan (about 23,800 KRW). This marks the largest first-day gain for a major IPO since China’s stock market reforms in 2019. Through this listing, Moore Threads raised 7.9996 billion yuan (about 1.67 trillion KRW), building it the second-largest mainland IPO this year. Its market capitalization reached 53.715 billion yuan (about 11.21 trillion KRW), surpassing SK Biopharmaceuticals (10.494 trillion KRW) and approaching SK Telecom (11.6846 trillion KRW) on its first day.

AI Accelerator GPU ‘MTT S4000’ Designed by Moore Threads. [Moore Threads]

Moore Threads was founded in 2020 by Jianzhong Zhang, former head of Nvidia’s China division. The company has rapidly emerged as China’s answer to Nvidia, seizing the opportunity created by U.S. restrictions on Nvidia’s advanced AI chip supply.

After 14 years at Nvidia, CEO Zhang founded Moore Threads out of a sense of urgency over China’s excessive reliance on U.S. technology, especially as the U.S. intensified sanctions against China. Co-founder and CTO Zhou Yuan also previously led Nvidia’s ecosystem in China. Other former Nvidia employees, such as GPU architect Jang Wi-bo, Yang Sang-san, and sales director Wang Dong, have also joined the company. Moore Threads is following Nvidia’s growth trajectory, developing processors for large language models (LLM) utilized in AI training, in addition to gaming GPUs.

Market research firm Bernstein expects Moore Threads’ chip sales to rise from $58 million this year to $93 million by 2026. While its market share still lags far behind Huawei and Cambricon Technologies, investors are betting that Moore Threads will benefit significantly from government policies aimed at reducing depconcludeence on U.S. chipbuildrs. Bloomberg News described Moore Threads as one of the key beneficiaries emerging as an alternative to Nvidia chips amid U.S. export controls on semiconductors to China. In 2024, Nvidia held 54.4% of China’s AI chip market, followed by Huawei HiSilicon at 21.4% and AMD at 15.3%. Moore Threads’ share was less than 1%.

The Chinese government is supporting capital raising in strategic sectors to strengthen AI self-reliance. Although Moore Threads has yet to turn a profit, regulators relaxed profitability requirements for STAR Market listings, allowing loss-building companies to go public. As a result, Moore Threads completed its registration process in just 122 days after applying for its IPO—a record speed.

[Maeil Business DB]

In October 2023, Moore Threads was added to the U.S. export control list, building it difficult to outsource production to global foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited (TSMC). However, the company responded by shifting manufacturing to China’s Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) and focutilizing all resources on AI computing, accelerating its drive for self-sufficiency.

Moore Threads plans to invest the funds raised from its IPO into core research and development projects, including next-generation AI training and inference GPU chips. CEO Zhang stated, “The company is at a critical juncture for technological accumulation and market expansion,” and predicted that, with steady demand and technological advancement, Moore Threads could turn a profit by 2027.

Meanwhile, Nvidia is losing its dominance in the Chinese market due to U.S. export controls. Nvidia’s market share in China, which stood at 40% in 2025, is expected to plummet to around 8% in 2026, with sales shrinking to $2 billion. Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, remarked at an event in New York last October that the company’s share of China’s advanced chip market had dropped from 95% to 0%.

Not all analyses are positive. Xiao Qifeng, CIO of Yang’an Asset Management, warned, “Historically, blockbuster IPOs in a sector are not always positive signals and can sometimes indicate overheating in certain areas.” Ultimately, securing profitability remains Moore Threads’ top priority. The company’s revenue rose from $6.5 million in 2022 to $17.54 million in 2023 and $61.96 million in 2024, with $99.31 million recorded in the first half of this year. Over the same period, cumulative net losses exceeded $700 million.

* Source: China Business Network (CBN)

The low yield and high cost of SMIC, which Moore Threads selected as an alternative to TSMC, are expected to pose challenges. In addition, securing high bandwidth memory (HBM) produced by companies such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix, and Micron Technology, Inc.—all subject to U.S. regulations—remains difficult, highlighting clear supply chain limitations.

Moore Threads is not the only company entering the race to absorb GPU demand left by Nvidia’s absence. MetaX recently received approval to list on the STAR Market, while Biren Technology and Enflame Technology are preparing for listings in Hong Kong.

Moore Threads Logo. [Moore Threads]

This article has been translated by GripLabs Mingo AI.