Robin Li's Biggest IPO Yet

Original Author: Wu Qiong

Original Source: PEdaily

"Can't get a share."

This scene is unfolding around Kunlun Chip. Since filing confidentially with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at the beginning of the year, Kunlun Chip's listing is drawing closer. Currently, there is a fierce scramble for cornerstone shares.

Thus, Robin Li's largest IPO emerges. According to foreign media reports, Kunlun Chip's target valuation is around $50 billion (approximately 340 billion RMB). If listed, its market value would surpass that of Baidu. With such scale, it's no wonder Kunlun Chip is consistently viewed externally as the most valuable asset in Baidu's AI narrative.

The outcome of Baidu's turnaround battle will soon be clear.

Robin Li's Largest IPO is Set to Exceed Baidu in Value

Right now, the atmosphere is charged.

Fast back to the beginning of this year, Baidu announced in a filing that Kunlun Chip had submitted an application form (A1 Form) to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange through its joint sponsors, in a confidential format, seeking approval for the listing and trading of Kunlun Chip shares on the Main Board of the HKEX.

Since then, Kunlun Chip's HK IPO has been progressing under the radar. Half a year later, with IPO preparations advancing steadily, Kunlun Chip has entered a critical pre-listing phase. According to The Information, the company has already initiated contact with potential investment institutions.

This represents the last window for investors to enter Kunlun Chip through the primary market, but the entry barrier is high: reports indicate that Kunlun Chip prioritizes investors who commit to purchasing its chips during the placement, requiring the value of chips procured to be 3 to 7 times the subscription amount.

This means that for investors to secure a cornerstone share of Kunlun Chip, they must first "buy chips." Consequently, purely financial investors may find themselves excluded. Kunlun Chip favors industrial investors who inherently possess the capacity for continuous procurement.

Only a few will ultimately make it to the table. One investor told PEdaily, "The competition for cornerstone shares is intense," while many others find it "extremely difficult to secure a seat."

Undeniably, high expectations are placed on Kunlun Chip. It is reported that Kunlun Chip's target valuation is around $50 billion (approximately 340 billion RMB). This is not unfounded. According to IDC data, in the 2025 China AI accelerator server market, Kunlun Chip and Cambricon tied for third place among domestic manufacturers, each shipping approximately 116,000 cards.

A previous Goldman Sachs research report pointed out that if the market were to assign Kunlun Chip a valuation multiple similar to Cambricon's, the value of Baidu's equity stake could reach as high as $22 billion. As demand for AI computing power explodes, Cambricon's market capitalization briefly surpassed one trillion RMB this week.

Hence, the intense competition for Kunlun Chip's cornerstone shares.

Of course, Baidu stands to be the biggest winner. Recall that at the beginning of the year, Robin Li explained in a filing that one of the benefits of Kunlun Chip's spin-off listing would be enhancing Kunlun Chip's image among its customers, suppliers, and potential strategic partners to secure more business, and Baidu would also benefit from its growth through its shareholding.

The effect was immediate. Following the news, Baidu's stock price rose for four consecutive trading days, with its HK market capitalization exceeding 300 billion HKD. If Kunlun Chip achieves its target valuation of $50 billion, the value of Baidu's controlling stake would exceed one hundred billion. Thus, Robin Li would witness another highlight moment – Kunlun Chip's market capitalization surpassing Baidu's.

Investors Flock, Awaiting a Super Return

Secretive and low-profile, yet it has become Robin Li's masterpiece.

The story of Kunlun Chip dates back to 2011, with its predecessor being Baidu's Intelligent Chip and Architecture Department. A team comprised of talent from leading companies such as Baidu, Qualcomm, Marvell, and Tesla initiated Baidu's chip-making journey.

It wasn't until 2021 that Baidu formally spun off its Kunlun chip business, establishing a new company – Kunlun Chip (Beijing) Technology Co., Ltd. Alongside the spin-off came a blockbuster financing round, led by CPE Yuanfeng, with investors including IDG Capital, Junlian Capital, and Oriza Hua, valuing the company at approximately 13 billion RMB at the time.

Since then, Kunlun Chip has become known to the outside world.

However, this was also the only time Kunlun Chip publicly announced a financing round. But according to Qichacha, Kunlun Chip underwent multiple equity changes over five years, with many well-known investment institutions joining sequentially – in July 2022, new shareholders included General Technology Venture Capital, China-Belgium Fund, and Qianshan Capital; just half a month later, CITIC Securities and Linxin Investment also became shareholders.

In 2023, BYD, Zhongguancun Science City Company, Sanya Yuhai Fund, and China Internet Investment Fund appeared one after another; subsequently, entities like the Social Security Fund Zhongguancun Independent Innovation Special Fund, Beijing AI Industry Investment Fund, Shunxi Fund, and CSC Financial Capital also joined, making the investor lineup increasingly illustrious.

Perhaps the listing move was already brewing. In July last year, Kunlun Chip added 15 new shareholders in one go, including funds under China Mobile, Beijing Government Guidance Fund, Beijing Shangaao Juntai Fund, China Merchants Securities Investment, and CICC Capital, sparking speculation about the scramble for a stake.

To date, Kunlun Chip has gathered a total of 57 shareholders. It is foreseeable that the listing of Kunlun Chip will create another wave of collective wealth generation in Hong Kong's stock market.

Backed by resources from a tech giant, Kunlun Chip is already a force to be reckoned with. Currently, Kunlun Chip's main product is the P800, launched in 2024, comparable to Nvidia's A800, manufactured using Samsung's 7nm process, primarily targeting data center inference scenarios. Additionally, the Kunlun Chip M100, optimized mainly for large-scale inference scenarios, was launched in early 2026. The Kunlun Chip M300, designed mainly for ultra-large-scale multimodal model training and inference scenarios, is planned for launch in 2027.

Compared to its peers, Kunlun Chip not only has order support from Baidu's internal business lines like Search, Cloud Computing, and Autonomous Driving but also counts large state-owned enterprise clients like China Mobile, China Southern Power Grid, and China Merchants Bank. The most pivotal deal among these was in August last year, during China Mobile's centralized procurement project, where Kunlun Chip ranked first in all three bidding packages, securing an order worth billions.

Our child is finally growing up; Kunlun Chip is stepping out from under Baidu's wing. At a recent Zhiyuan Conference, Qi Wei, Vice President of R&D at Kunlun Chip, revealed that besides supplying chips to Baidu, the company's commercialization scale for external customers continues to expand, and the proportion of external business has now surpassed the supply to Baidu internally.

"An Early Bird that Got the Worm Late": The Turnaround Battle

Robin Li has been waiting for this day for a long time.

Historically, Baidu was the first internet company to declare an "All in AI" strategy. During the "war of a hundred models", Baidu's ERNIE Bot was among the first to debut, becoming one of China's earliest ChatGPT-like products and enjoying a period of unparalleled glory.

However, reality has been harsh.

After years of intense competition, the landscape for domestic large models is set. On one hand, products from other tech giants like Doubao and Qianwen have gradually captured user mindshare; on the other hand, AI startups have also risen from behind. Last week, Zhipu AI's market value briefly surpassed one trillion RMB. Although it has since fallen back, it is still nearly three times the value of Baidu.

Not to mention, DeepSeek's post-money valuation in its first financing round approached 400 billion RMB; Kimi's valuation also rose to $31.5 billion (approximately 210 billion RMB) in its latest funding round. In contrast, Baidu has repeatedly left the impression on outsiders of being "an early bird that got the worm late."

Given this situation, it's hard for Baidu not to feel anxious.

The present moment is an opportunity Baidu cannot afford to miss. Companies like Moore Threads and MXS have already set examples in the secondary market; Cambricon also briefly hit a new market cap high. Even more noteworthy is CXMT (ChangXin Memory Technologies), which has successfully passed its IPO review on the STAR Market... It's visibly clear that the explosive growth of AI computing power is rippling through the entire semiconductor industry chain.

Within Baidu's AI narrative, Kunlun Chip is precisely regarded as the most valuable core asset. In early May, Kunlun Chip officially initiated its STAR Market IPO tutoring process, simultaneously advancing a dual "A+H" share listing. Facing a fleeting window of opportunity, Baidu is desperately racing against time.

This inevitably reminds one of the judgment Robin Li made a decade ago: the era of artificial intelligence is coming and will bring endless possibilities. "For Baidu, if we can seize the opportunity in AI, in five to ten years, Baidu can transform into a completely different company."

If it misses this chance again, it will truly and completely fall behind.