China’s Rush for AI Chip Stocks Grows as MetaX Attracts Record Number of Retail Investors
China’s enthusiasm for homegrown AI chip companies continues to intensify, with MetaX Integrated Circuits becoming the latest name to capture the attention of millions of retail investors. The Shanghai based graphics processing unit developer has generated even stronger demand than Moore Threads, another major domestic GPU producer, ahead of its upcoming market debut. The surge in interest highlights how eager Chinese investors are to back companies that could help reduce the country’s dependence on foreign semiconductor technology.
According to a filing released on Monday, MetaX drew an extraordinary 5.17 million retail investors during its online subscription process. This translated into a final allotment rate of only 0.033 percent, showing that the number of applicants far exceeded the available shares and that competition was more intense than in most recent IPOs. For comparison, Moore Threads attracted 4.82 million retail investors just days earlier, with a similarly low allotment rate of 0.036 percent. The comparison suggests that enthusiasm for AI related chipmakers remains exceptionally strong as investors seek to participate in a rapidly expanding sector.
MetaX was founded in 2020 and has quickly become widely regarded as one of China’s most promising developers of high performance AI processors. The company aims to compete directly in areas dominated by global leaders such as Nvidia. As restrictions on advanced chip exports to China continue to reshape the global semiconductor landscape, domestic firms like MetaX have gained heightened strategic significance. Investors view these companies not only as financial opportunities but also as critical contributors to national technological resilience.
The company plans to raise 4.2 billion yuan, roughly 594 million United States dollars, through its initial public offering. It set its offer price at 104.66 yuan per share, which places its valuation at about 41.9 billion yuan. Analysts say that the strong subscription demand reflects both investor confidence in the AI market and growing public awareness of how vital GPU technologies have become for machine learning, autonomous systems and next generation computing.
The appetite for AI chip stocks has been expanding across China’s financial markets. Recent breakthroughs in large scale artificial intelligence models, combined with a government push to strengthen domestic chip capabilities, have created a surge in demand for companies linked to semiconductor innovation. Many investors believe that the rapid growth of AI applications in industries including finance, healthcare, robotics and cloud computing will continue to drive long term demand for advanced processors.
MetaX has positioned itself as a key participant in this evolving landscape, developing GPU architectures that are designed to support powerful AI workloads. Although it remains a young company, its trajectory reflects both technological ambition and strong support from capital markets.
The successful subscription results also indicate that Chinese retail investors are increasingly willing to take part in the strategic development of the local semiconductor ecosystem. By channeling savings into companies like MetaX, they are contributing to a broader effort to build a competitive domestic supply chain.
As MetaX prepares for its official trading debut, expectations are high that the company may follow the same explosive path seen in the recent launch of Moore Threads. The coming weeks will reveal whether the market momentum surrounding AI chipmakers can sustain the exceptional demand that has characterized the latest wave of technology offerings.
