China’s AI chipmaker Biren tumbles 12% as it seeks US$510 million in share placement

Shares of AI chipmaker Shanghai Biren Technology plummeted over 12% in Hong Kong on Thursday, following plans to raise US$510 million through a share placement amidst growing competition from other Chinese Nvidia rivals. The company disclosed its intention to issue 130 million new shares at HK$31.08 each in a filing with the Hong Kong stock exchange, a move that comes with a 10% discount to its previous trading price of HK$34.44.

This offering represents approximately 5% of Biren's total issued shares, according to the company's latest financial disclosure.

The share price of Biren Technology plummeted to a low of HK$30.24 before closing at HK$30.36, marking a 11.9% decrease from its previous close. This capital infusion marks Biren's second share placement since its Hong Kong listing in January, with the previous round in July raising HK$7 billion. The cumulative fundraising from these two placements has exceeded HK$11 billion within just three months.

The decision to raise additional funds is attributed to Biren's faster-than-expected progress in developing its next-generation AI processors and the increasing demand for computational power. The company's new-generation product has completed initial testing and entered post-silicon validation, indicating closer proximity to customer sampling and commercial production.

Biren plans to allocate 70% of the net proceeds from the new share placement towards securing manufacturing capacity, procuring components, and preparing for the commercial launch of its next-generation products. Another 20% of the funds will be directed towards strengthening research and development capabilities and its software ecosystem. The remaining 10% will be utilized for working capital and general corporate purposes.

Despite the recent fundraising, Biren Technology has yet to achieve profitability. In the first half of 2026, its revenue surged by around 21-fold to 1.24 billion yuan (US$184.9 million), primarily driven by increased sales of intelligent computing solutions. However, the company's net loss narrowed to 377 million yuan, down from 1.6 billion yuan a year earlier.

Nevertheless, Biren continues to invest heavily in processor development and related technologies, with R&D expenses rising by 40.7% to 804 million yuan in the first half of the year.