Biren Tech’s revenue triples on China’s demand for AI chips

Shanghai Biren Technology Co.’s annual revenue more than tripled, driven by China’s surging demand for artificial intelligence chips.

Revenue jumped to 1.03 billion yuan ($150 million) from 337 million yuan the previous year.

The AI chip designer’s net loss swelled to 16.5 billion yuan ($2.4 billion) last year from 1.5 billion yuan the year before, mainly the result of one-time finance cost linked to redemption rights granted to certain investors.

Biren Tech began trading in January after raising $717 million in its initial public offering. The Hong Kong-listed stock has climbed 45% since the debut. The company among a wave of Chinese AI firms that rushed to raise funds to accelerate growth as Beijing supports home-grown champions in the sector, squeezing global rivals Nvidia Corp. out of the Chinese market.

The company’s research and development expenses climbed 79% to 1.5 billion yuan. The company said its next-generation BR20X chips are due for commercial launch in 2026 and that it remains confident in its position to “capitalize on the historic opportunities in AI computing.” Bloomberg