China's largest chip IPO is coming
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China's largest chip IPO is coming
As a pioneer in China's DRAM sector, ChangXin Technology has reached a pre-IPO valuation of 150 billion yuan. Backed by its position as the world's fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer and an upcoming strong industry upcycle, it is poised to become an even more explosive trillion-yuan IPO on the A-share market following Moore Threads.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsAfter Moore Threads and Giga Computing, will another IPO in 2026 send A-shares into a frenzy?
The answer is—yes, it's already here. An IPO larger than Moore Threads and Giga Computing combined is about to arrive.
Recent news: Changan Technology’s application for an IPO on the STAR Market was accepted on December 30, 2025, utilizing a pre-review mechanism.
In one sentence: Changan Technology is the largest and most technologically advanced integrated DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) chip design and manufacturing enterprise in mainland China.
How big will Changan Technology’s IPO be?
Changan Technology’s pre-IPO valuation has reached approximately 150 billion yuan. For comparison, Moore Threads had a pre-IPO valuation of 24.62 billion yuan, while Giga Computing was valued at around 21.07 billion yuan—combined, they amount to only a fraction of Changan Technology’s value.
Following the logic of Moore Threads surging 400% and Giga Computing jumping 692% on their first trading days, both reaching market caps in the hundreds of billions, Changan Technology operates in a sector with even greater potential and market positioning. Its valuation logic can only be bigger. In a red-hot market environment, could Changan Technology become a trillion-yuan IPO?
Judging from its proposed fundraising target, Changan Technology plans to raise 29.5 billion yuan—an amount ranking as the second-largest IPO on the STAR Market since its launch. The largest was SMIC, which raised about 53.23 billion yuan and briefly surpassed a one-trillion-yuan market cap in September 2025.
The wealth bonanza is unfolding like a relay race, and Changan Technology’s listing may push the market to yet another peak.
Three Massive Fundraisings, Assembling an "All-Star" Shareholder Lineup
Founded in 2016, Changan Technology boasts a registered capital of as high as 60.19 billion yuan, with up to 60 shareholders listed in its prospectus. It has undergone eight shareholder changes and three major funding rounds.
In 2020, Changan completed a massive Series A round of 15.65 billion yuan, shaking the market. Over ten investors participated, bringing in numerous non-Hefei state-backed entities such as CMB Securities, TCL Venture Capital, Jianyin International, China Life Investment, PICC Capital, Zhaoshang Zhiyuan Capital, ABC Financial Assets, CMB International Capital, Xiaomi Yangtze River Industry Fund, Legend Capital, CICC Capital, National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, Pro Capital, Haitong Kaiyuan, and others.
In 2022, Changan secured another 8.39 billion yuan in a C+ round, achieving a post-investment valuation of 107.789 billion yuan. This round attracted Tencent Investment, Walden International, Alibaba, Zhongyou Insurance, Hexie Health, Orient Asset Management, Weixing Group, Junhe Capital, Shentoukong, Qianhai Mother Fund, Greater Bay Area Joint Home Development Fund, Shuimu Fund, and Sunshine Insurance—non-Hefei state capital continued pouring in.
In March 2024, Changan raised another 10.8 billion yuan, pushing its post-investment valuation to around 150 billion yuan. Besides Gigadevice’s 1.5 billion yuan investment, other participants included Hefei Changxin Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd., Hefei Industry Investment No.1 Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), and CCB Financial Asset Investment Co., Ltd.
Whether 15.6 billion, 8.39 billion, or 10.8 billion yuan—each of Changan Technology’s funding rounds rivals the fundraising size of a unicorn IPO.
Changan Technology’s shareholder list reads like an “all-star” roster, encompassing national and local state-owned institutions, market-driven VC/PE firms, industrial giants, and financial institutions. State-affiliated shareholders collectively hold over 36%, and there is no actual controller.
What justifies such a massive valuation for Changan Technology?
As the largest and most advanced DRAM IDM player in mainland China, Changan Technology has emerged as the world’s fourth-largest DRAM manufacturer, breaking the decades-long “triumvirate” monopoly held by Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron.
Notably, it has already captured critical market share. Its DDR4 products accounted for about 5% of the global market in 2024, with expectations of continuous growth. In an industry characterized by “winner-takes-all,” this breakthrough from zero to one is immensely valuable.
More importantly, heavy investments are beginning to pay off—Changan Technology is gradually emerging from losses.
Net profits attributable to shareholders were -8.98 billion yuan, -6.901 billion yuan, and -5.526 billion yuan in 2022, 2023, and 2024 respectively. According to the latest forecasts, the company is expected to achieve a historic profitability turnaround in 2025, generating annual net profits between 2 billion and 3.5 billion yuan.
Underpinning this shift is explosive revenue growth: revenue reached 24.178 billion yuan in 2024 and is projected to surge to 55–58 billion yuan in 2025, more than doubling. Such growth rates are rare among global capital-intensive semiconductor firms.
Now, Changan Technology’s IPO coincides with another favorable tailwind—the industry’s strongest-ever price hike cycle.
At the beginning of 2026, due to surging demand from AI servers, global DRAM giants plan to raise prices by 60–70%, ushering in a strong boom period. As a key supplier, Changan Technology stands to benefit directly from rising volumes and prices.
Reports indicate that DRAM chips are becoming the new “electronic Maotai,” changing prices daily after the Lunar New Year. Industry insiders describe: “If you buy 100 sticks and pack them in a box, they’re worth 4 million yuan—more than many properties in Shanghai.”
The core driver behind the price surge lies in the exponential increase in demand for high-bandwidth memory and standard DDR5 memory from AI servers, coupled with limited global capacity expansion. Industry analysis shows that a high-end AI server requires 8–10 times more DRAM than a regular server.
Today, Changan Technology has successfully developed its LPDDR5L series, positioning itself at the forefront of this wave.
In short, Changan Technology’s valuation reflects not only market imagination but also investors’ deep aspirations for China’s semiconductor self-reliance.
Yancheng Tycoon Zhu Yiming
To trace its origins, we must start with Yancheng tycoon Zhu Yiming.
Zhu Yiming, born in 1972 in Yancheng, Jiangsu Province, earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in modern applied physics from Tsinghua University, then pursued further studies at Stony Brook University in New York, obtaining a master’s degree in electrical engineering—laying a solid foundation in physics and engineering.
During his time in the U.S., he worked as an engineer at semiconductor firm iPolicy Networks, experiencing firsthand Silicon Valley’s chip innovation ecosystem. This experience gave him profound insight into the semiconductor industry’s core principles: technology-driven, globally competitive, and winner-takes-all.
Zhu Yiming has climbed two major mountains. The first was Gigadevice.
In 2005, armed with technology and ambition, Zhu returned to China and founded Xinja Jiayi Microelectronics (GigaDevice) in Tsinghua Science Park, Beijing—the predecessor of Gigadevice.
He avoided the crowded fields of CPUs and memory dominated by giants, instead choosing the smaller but fast-growing NOR Flash (code flash memory) segment—a key chip for storing boot code in mobile phones and DVDs.
Startups face immense challenges, and the company once teetered on the edge of a cash crunch. The turning point came in 2008 when his team successfully developed China’s first Serial NOR Flash chip, matching international performance and opening the market. One early investor later recalled: “He held the demo board, and his eyes were shining.”
Through relentless technological innovation and market expansion, Gigadevice went public on the Shanghai Main Board in 2016 and grew into one of the world’s top three NOR Flash suppliers.
By then, Zhu Yiming had already achieved fame and success.
Yet he didn’t stop. At the height of Gigadevice’s success, Zhu made a shocking decision: to found a second startup and tackle DRAM, a field monopolized by three global giants—the “no-man’s land” of semiconductors, requiring the highest investment, densest technology, and greatest risk.
His all-in move came in 2016. Gradually stepping back from Gigadevice’s day-to-day operations, he devoted himself entirely to his new venture, Changan Technology. To show his determination, he publicly pledged not to take any salary or bonus until Changan turned profitable—a declaration reminiscent of “burning the boats.”
Zhu’s technical strategy was clever. Facing tight patent barriers, Changan legally acquired thousands of legacy patents from Germany’s bankrupt Qimonda and built upon them through deep R&D and innovation. This allowed the company to bypass patent traps while gaining a valuable technological foothold.
The breakthrough from zero to one occurred in September 2019, when Changan announced mass production of its first batch of 10nm-class (19nm) DDR4 memory chips—marking mainland China’s first breakthrough in the DRAM field.
This moment was etched into the memories of countless industry professionals.
Having conquered two towering peaks in the semiconductor realm, Zhu Yiming has become a true visionary. In hard tech, exceptional technical judgment, unwavering strategic patience, and the willingness to stake one’s reputation on a grand mission are rarer and more valuable than short-term profits. This human story forms the most compelling chapter behind Changan Technology’s hundred-billion-yuan valuation.
Another Benchmark Case for the "Hefei Model"
In reality, beyond Zhu Yiming’s leadership, Changan Technology’s rise owes much to a bold venture capitalist—Hefei municipal government.
Launching the project required massive funding. At a critical juncture, the Hefei government demonstrated extraordinary strategic vision by agreeing to fund three-quarters of the initial capital—about 13.5 billion yuan—with Gigadevice covering the remaining quarter.
Effectively, Hefei assumed the highest early-stage “death risk,” enabling Zhu Yiming’s team to launch this super-project requiring hundreds of billions in investment and years before returns—even though they started nearly from scratch in terms of technology, patents, and talent. Without this step, subsequent social capital would never have followed.
According to the prospectus, multiple Hefei government funds directly invested in Changan Technology. These include: Hefei Changxin Integrated Circuit Co., Ltd., a municipal SOE holding 11.71%; Hefei Industry Investment No.1 Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), a fund under Hefei Industry Investment Group with a 1.85% stake; Hefei Jianchang Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), a fund under Hefei Construction Investment, holding 1.50%; and Hefei Industry Investment High-Growth No.1 Equity Investment Partnership (Limited Partnership), another Hefei Industry Investment fund with 0.06%.
Hefei also indirectly holds 21.67% via the company’s largest shareholder, “Hefei Qinghui Integrated Circuit Enterprise Management Partnership.” Qinghui Integrated Circuit is fully controlled by the Hefei state-owned system (through Hefei Industry Investment and Changxin Integration) and should be entirely counted as part of Hefei’s state ownership. Additionally, Anhui Provincial Investment Group Holding Co., Ltd. holds 7.91%.
In total, the Hefei municipal government is the largest capital backer of Changan Technology.
Behind Hefei’s bold bet lie two considerations.
First, deep confidence in Zhu Yiming’s personal credibility, technical insight, and execution capability. A senior official at Hefei Industry Investment once said: “We invested in Zhu Yiming himself, and the possibility he represents.”
Second, like BOE and NIO, the “Hefei model” aims not merely to nurture individual companies, but to build globally competitive industrial clusters.
With Changan Technology as the “chain leader,” Hefei has systematically attracted and cultivated upstream and downstream supporting enterprises in materials, equipment, packaging, and testing locally and in surrounding areas, including ZeeTek and Jiangfeng Electronics.
Moreover, collaborations have emerged. In 2023, Hefei established the Anhui Province New Generation Information Technology Industry Fund, a 30-billion-yuan industrial fund operating under a mother-fund structure. The mother fund, with a minimum size of 12.5 billion yuan, is managed by Changan’s corporate venture arm, Changxin Xiju. It has already contributed 1.285 billion yuan to Hefei Economic Development Zone’s Haiheng Emerging Industries Fund to support regional next-gen IT and future industry projects.
A landmark collaboration is the establishment of the “Hefei Qihang Hengxin Fund,” managed by Changan’s subsidiary Qihang Xinrui Private Equity Fund Management Company, with a total scale of 1.0625 billion yuan. Its investor list is a miniature “Changan ecosystem”: including core suppliers like Guanggang Gas and Shanghai Sunny, Anhui Province’s New Generation Information Technology Industry Fund, Hefei Industry Investment, and financial institutions such as Guoyuan Securities. This means Changan Technology is not just a manufacturer—it’s becoming an industrial orchestrator.
Clearly, as an industry leader, Changan Technology is leveraging its industrial insights and capital influence to give back to Hefei, jointly forging a highly competitive semiconductor supply chain.
Within Hefei’s development blueprint, Changan Technology stands as another benchmark case—following BOE and NIO—where the local government kickstarted funding to cultivate an industry leader.
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