New Power in the AI Chip Market

💹 Chinese Nvidia Competitor Made Its Founder a Billionaire Thanks to 420% Stock Surge

Chinese company Moore Threads Technology caused a real sensation on the Shanghai Stock Exchange — its shares soared 420% on debut day, instantly making its founder Zhang Jianzhong a billionaire and raising the question: can the company compete with American giant Nvidia in the growing Chinese AI chip market?

59-year-old Zhang, chairman of the board and CEO of the company, now holds an estimated fortune of $4.3 billion according to Forbes. At the end of November, Moore Threads raised 8 billion yuan ($1.1 billion) by selling 70 million shares at 114.28 yuan each. The IPO was one of the most anticipated events on the Chinese market in 2025 and exceeded all expectations.

The retail portion of the offering was oversubscribed 2,750 times, despite a redistribution mechanism that allowed more shares to go to private investors. Moore Threads’ market capitalization reached 276 billion yuan, and the funds are planned to be used for team expansion and R&D activities.

The company had attracted investor attention even before the IPO, receiving funding from HSG (HongShan Capital Group, formerly known as Sequoia China), as well as from the investment arms of tech giants ByteDance and Tencent. In 2023, Moore Threads was added to the U.S. “entity list,” which restricts its access to advanced U.S. chip manufacturing technologies.

Moore Threads benefits from China’s push for technological independence amid U.S. restrictions on exporting advanced semiconductors, which, according to strategists, gives the company an advantage in the domestic market. Investor optimism about Chinese manufacturers also boosted the shares of other companies like Cambricon Technologies. For example, Cambricon chairman Chen Tianshi, with a fortune of $23.4 billion, became one of the richest people in China.

Moore Threads’ product line ranges from graphics processors to supporting software for AI model training. According to a study by Shanghai broker Sinolink Securities, China’s domestic GPU market will grow from 142.5 billion yuan in 2024 to 1.3 trillion yuan by 2029. Brokers note that Moore Threads could become an “important force” in replacing foreign suppliers, including Nvidia. In the first nine months of 2025, the company’s sales increased 182% year-on-year to 784.6 million yuan, while its loss decreased by 18.7% to 723.5 million yuan.

Zhang has worked in the semiconductor industry for nearly 20 years. Before founding Moore Threads in 2020, he led Nvidia’s China division for 14 years and previously held executive positions at Dell and HP in China. His wife Liu Shanshan was the company’s director in its early years but stepped down in 2023.

💎 The impressive debut of Moore Threads demonstrates how seriously Chinese investors are committed to supporting local chip manufacturers. Despite current losses, revenue growth and shrinking losses indicate the company’s strategy is on the right track amid geopolitical tensions and China’s pursuit of technological autonomy.