Iluvatar CoreX (Tianshu Zhixin) prepares for Hong Kong IPO with China's first mass‑produced 7 nm GPU
Iluvatar CoreX (Tianshu Zhixin) has officially passed its Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing hearing, positioning the company to become one of the first domestic GPU developers to go public in Hong Kong. The move comes amid a surge of semiconductor IPO activity in China, following the high‑profile listings of Moore Threads and Muxi on the A‑share market with valuations reaching ¥300-400 billion (≈$41-55 billion USD).
If the IPO proceeds as expected, Iluvatar CoreX (Tianshu Zhixin) will compete directly with Biren Technology, which submitted its own prospectus just two days earlier. Biren previously attracted attention for claiming performance beyond NVIDIA's A100.
Founded in 2015, Iluvatar CoreX (Tianshu Zhixin) began with computing‑acceleration hardware and software before shifting its focus to general‑purpose GPU chips and AI‑computing platforms. The company now employs a 480‑person R&D team, including senior engineers and executives with backgrounds at AMD and NVIDIA.
According to its prospectus, Iluvatar CoreX positions itself as a leading domestic provider of general‑purpose GPUs. Its Tiangai and Zhikai product lines emphasize performance efficiency, broad compatibility, and smooth migration for AI workloads. The GPUs support mainstream deep‑learning frameworks widely used in China and international markets.
Industry research from Frost & Sullivan highlights that Iluvatar CoreX is the first company in China to achieve mass production of both inference‑class and training‑class general‑purpose GPUs. It is also the first domestic firm to reach this milestone using advanced 7 nm process technology.
Financial performance has grown rapidly. Revenue increased from ¥1.89 billion in 2022 to ¥2.89 billion in 2023 and ¥5.40 billion in 2024 (≈$260M → $400M → $750M USD). In the first half of 2025, revenue reached ¥3.24 billion (≈$450 million USD), up 64.24% year‑over‑year. Gross margin improved from 45.1% to 50.1% over the same period.
The company also completed D‑round and D+‑round financing in 2025, raising ¥1.4 billion and ¥2.05 billion (≈$192 million and $281 million USD). Before the D+ round, Iluvatar CoreX's pre‑money valuation reached ¥12 billion (≈$1.65 billion USD).
GPU shipments have steadily increased: 7,800 units in 2022, 12,700 units in 2023, and 16,800 units in 2024. In the first half of 2025 alone, shipments reached 15,700 units. Customer count expanded from 22 to 65 to 181 across 2022-2024.
Despite strong revenue growth, Iluvatar CoreX remains unprofitable due to heavy R&D investment. Net losses were ¥5.54 billion, ¥8.17 billion, ¥8.92 billion, and ¥6.09 billion from 2022 through the first half of 2025.
Iluvatar CoreX (Tianshu Zhixin), founded in Shanghai in 2015, is one of China's earliest and most advanced domestic GPU developers. The company focuses on general‑purpose GPU chips for AI training, inference, and high‑performance computing. Its Tiangai and Zhikai series are designed to provide domestically controlled alternatives to foreign GPU platforms, emphasizing compatibility, performance efficiency, and scalable AI‑computing solutions. With a large R&D team and leadership experience drawn from global semiconductor companies, Iluvatar CoreX is positioning itself as a central player in China's push for independent computing hardware.
