Baidu mulls Hong Kong spin-off of Kunlunxin chip unit as China semiconductor deals surge

Baidu has confirmed that it is weighing a spin-off and Hong Kong listing of its semiconductor arm, arsenic a caller question of capitalist involvement sweeps China's spot sector.

The hunt motor elephantine said connected Sunday that Kunlunxin (Beijing) Technology was "in the process of the projected spin-off and listing successful Hong Kong, aft reports that the portion planned to record an archetypal nationalist offering nary earlier than the archetypal 4th of adjacent year".

However, the institution cautioned that determination was "no assurance" that the projected spin-off and listing would proceed.

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Shares of Baidu opened 3.2 per cent higher astatine HK$125.60 connected Monday, extending a 5 per cent summation past Friday, arsenic investors stake a imaginable listing could unlock worth successful its artificial quality spot business.

Kunlunxin was precocious reported to person completed a caller fundraising round, lifting its valuation to astir 21 cardinal yuan (US$2.97 billion).

The latest determination comes aft Moore Threads Technology, dubbed "China's small Nvidia", surged fivefold connected its Shanghai debut past Friday, underscoring renewed marketplace optimism astir the anticipation of China's semiconductor self-reliance amid persistent tensions with the United States.

Baidu has confirmed that it is weighing a spin-off and Hong Kong listing of its semiconductor arm. Photo: Reuters alt=Baidu has confirmed that it is weighing a spin-off and Hong Kong listing of its semiconductor arm. Photo: Reuters>

Another spot start-up, MetaX Integrated Circuits, is pressing up with a caller stock merchantability successful Shanghai and volition denote its subscription results connected Tuesday.

Baidu's spot ambitions are aligned with Beijing's broader extremity of reducing reliance connected US suppliers specified arsenic Nvidia and gathering its ain capableness amid the planetary AI race.

According to firm information level Tianyancha, Kunlunxin began arsenic an interior Baidu task focused connected intelligent chips and launched its archetypal product, the XPU, successful 2017.

In 2018, Baidu unveiled the Kunlun AI chip, which president and CEO Robin Li described arsenic China's "first cloud-to-edge" AI chip, referring to computing architecture designed to grip AI workloads crossed the afloat scope - from grooming oregon dense processing successful the unreality to faster, low-latency inference connected section devices.

Kunlunxin was spun disconnected arsenic an autarkic institution successful April 2021. Its archetypal fundraising past valued the steadfast astatine 13 cardinal yuan. Baidu present holds a 59.45 per cent stake, down from 70 per cent successful 2021.