MOORE Threads, a Chinese graphics processing unit (GPU) maker, plans to raise 8 billion yuan (US$1.1 billion) through an initial public offering (IPO) on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s STAR Market. According to a prospectus filed Monday, Moore Threads will issue up to 44.4 million shares on the STAR Market, representing no less than 10% of its total share capital after the issuance. The prospectus states that about 2.5 billion yuan of the proceeds will be allocated to the research and development of artificial intelligence (AI) training and inference chips. Another 2.5 billion yuan will be invested in the development of graphics processing chips, while 2 billion yuan will fund AI system-on-chip R&D projects. The remaining funds will be used to supplement liquidity. Founded in 2020, Moore Threads focuses on researching and developing GPU chips designed for high-performance computing. Its products have approached or met international standards in several performance areas. For example, the single-precision floating-point computing performance of its MTT S80 graphics card is reported to be close to that of Nvidia’s RTX 3060, according to the prospectus. However, the Beijing-based company acknowledges that it still lags behind international giants such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) in terms of overall R&D strength, core technology accumulation, and customer base. Moore Threads aims to increase investment in R&D following the IPO, aligning with China’s strategy to build new computing infrastructure. Moore Threads’ largest shareholder is its founder, chairman, and general manager Zhang Jianzhong, who holds an 11.1% direct stake and a 25.3% indirect stake through three employee shareholding platforms. Zhang previously served as Nvidia’s global vice president and China general manager before founding the company. (SD-Agencies) | 