Ningbo welcomes first listed company of 2026

Ningbo marked a high-tech development milestone on Feb 10 as Axera Semiconductor Co made its debut on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the city's first listed company of 2026.

Often dubbed China's "first edge AI chip stock", Axera has further strengthened the city's growing semiconductor footprint. Founded in May 2019, the Ningbo-based unicorn is a leading supplier of AI inference system-on-chip (SoC) solutions for terminal computing, edge computing, and intelligent vehicles. Its business is driven by a three-pillar strategy spanning smart cameras, intelligent driving, edge inference computing, and robotics.

The company priced its IPO at HK$28.20 ($3.60) per share, issuing 105 million shares to raise about HK$2.96 billion.

According to its prospectus, 60 percent of the net proceeds will be used to optimize existing technology platforms and launch new products, with the remainder supporting R&D, sales expansion, strategic investments, and working capital.

In 2024, Axera became the leading supplier of the mid-to-high-end visual edge AI inference chips, with 24.1 percent market share. Its smart-driving SoCs have achieved mass adoption by major automakers, making it China's second-largest domestic supplier by installation volume.

Powered by proprietary hybrid-precision NPUs and AI-ISP technologies, and with next-generation M97/M95 chips slated for release in 2026, the company is poised to seize opportunities in advanced autonomous driving and robotics, injecting fresh momentum into Ningbo's push to build a leading AI chip industry hub.