Biren Technology, one of China’s challengers to Nvidia, raised a new round of funding led by a state-owned fund in Shanghai, as the US-sanctioned artificial intelligence (AI) chip start-up gears up for an initial public offering (IPO) in the country.
The company, valued at US$2.2 billion according to the 2024 Hurun Global Unicorn List, secured fresh funding from a private equity entity under Shanghai State-owned Capital Investment (SSCI), according to the investment fund.
The latest fundraising also involved other investors, according to a Tuesday statement from the Shanghai SSCI Leading Private Equity (PE) Fund Management, but it did not elaborate on the size of the investments.
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It was the first investment made by the AI industry “fund of funds” under SSCI’s PE firm, and was considered an important contribution to the AI ecosystem, the investment firm said.
Biren’s BR100 AI chip. Photo: Handout alt=Biren’s BR100 AI chip. Photo: Handout>
The move showed Shanghai’s determination to build a “fully domestically produced, independent and controllable” computing system, using made-in-China chips to “solidify the foundation of the country’s AI industry and its global competitiveness”, the SSCI fund said.
Biren’s backers from earlier rounds include Qiming Venture Partners, IDG Capital and Hillhouse Capital’s early-stage venture capital arm GL Ventures.
Shanghai-based Biren is seen as one of the country’s best hopes for developing graphics processing units (GPUs) to replace advanced chips from Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices. Under US export controls, the two California-based companies are barred from selling their best GPUs to customers in China.
The US Commerce Department added Biren and its Beijing-based rival, Moore Threads, to a trade blacklist in 2023, which prevent them from using the services of world-leading chip foundries, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
Biren is seeking an IPO in China, having hired Shanghai’s largest brokerage, Guotai Junan Securities, last September to coach company executives on listing-related issues. The tutoring process, which is mandatory for all IPO applicants in China before filing a listing plan, usually takes between three and 12 months.
The AI sector has become an active field for investment from both private and government-backed investors in China, after Beijing made AI a national priority amid a heightened tech war between the world’s two largest economies.
