(Yicai) July 2 -- Moore Threads, a Chinese graphics processing unit maker, plans to raise CNY8 billion (USD1.1 billion) through an initial public offering on the Shanghai Stock Exchange’s technology board.

Moore Threads will issue up to 44.4 million shares on the Star Market, which will account for no less than 10 percent of its total share capital after issuance, according to a prospectus filed on June 30. The lead underwriter will be Citic Securities.

About CNY2.5 billion (USD348.8 million) of the proceeds will be used for artificial intelligence training and inference chip research and development, the prospectus showed. Another CNY2.5 billion will go into the development of graphics processing chips, and CNY2 billion will fund AI system-on-chip R&D projects. The remaining money will supplement liquidity.

Founded in 2020, Moore Threads researches and develops GPU chips that can be applied to high-performance computing. Its products have approached or reached the international advanced level in some performance indicators. For example, the single-precision floating-point computing performance of its MTT S80 graphics card is close to that of Nvidia’s RTX 3060, the company said in the prospectus.

Moore Threads still lacks behind international giants, such as Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices, in terms of comprehensive R&D strength, core technology accumulation, and customers, the Beijing-based firm noted, adding that it hopes to increase investment in innovation and R&D through this IPO, aligning with China’s strategy of building new computing infrastructure.

Moore Threads’ largest shareholder is its founder, Chairman, and General Manager Zhang Jianzhong, with an 11.1 percent direct stake and a 25.3 percent indirect stake through three employee shareholding platforms. In the past, Zhang worked at Nvidia as global vice president and China GM.

Editor: Futura Costaglione