Qiming Star | China's Edge AI Chip Leader Aixin Yuanzhi Debuts on Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited
Qiming Venture Partners led Aixin Yuanzhi's Pre-A funding round in early 2020, becoming the company's earliest investor, and continued to support the company's growth in two subsequent funding rounds.
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On February 10, 2026, Beijing time, Axera, a portfolio company of Qiming Venture Partners and China's leading edge AI chip company, successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the "first edge AI chip stock" in China. Axera (00600.HK) priced its IPO at HK$28.2 per share, giving it a market capitalization of HK$16.58 billion.
Qiming Venture Partners led Axera's pre-A round in early 2020, making it the company's earliest investor, and continued to back the company through two subsequent funding rounds. Prior to the IPO, Qiming Venture Partners held over 6% of Axera's shares, making it the company's second-largest institutional investor.
Axera CEO Weifeng Sun (left) and Axera Founder and Chairman Dr. Xiaoxin Qiu (right)
Founded in May 2019, Axera is dedicated to building world-leading AI perception and edge computing chips for markets including intelligent vehicles and edge computing. The company pursues a "general technology, specialized chips" strategy, developing market-specific chips built on self-developed core technology platforms including "AXProton AI-ISP" and "AXNeutron mixed-precision NPU," supported by a complete development toolchain and a diverse ecosystem partnership network.
Multiple generations of chips independently developed by Axera have all achieved commercialization, spanning dozens of product types. These have been mass-produced for visual terminal computing, intelligent vehicles, and edge computing AI inference applications, establishing a leading position in key markets.
By shipment volume in 2024, Axera ranked not only among the global top 5 suppliers of visual edge AI inference chips, but also claimed first place in the mid-to-high-end market with a 24.1% market share. In the intelligent vehicle segment, measured by installation volume of chips sold in 2024, Axera has risen to become China's second-largest domestic supplier of intelligent assisted driving chips, with cumulative shipments of its intelligent vehicle chips approaching 1 million units by the end of 2025. Additionally, Axera officially launched a new edge computing business line in 2025, aiming to build an "edge intelligence community" and drive large-scale AI deployment across industries, making it a top 3 supplier in China's edge computing AI chip sector.
Dr. Xiaoxin Qiu, Founder and Chairman of Axera, said: "This listing represents a pivotal milestone in Axera's development, as well as the beginning of greater social responsibility and a new journey. Going forward, we will execute a platform strategy with depth and breadth, continuously pushing technological boundaries, expanding our business footprint, and accelerating AI's evolution from intelligent perception to embodied intelligence. We firmly believe that the primary battlefield for AI value is unfolding across endpoints and the edge. Axera's edge and endpoint AI chips are the foundational cornerstone of this transformation. Guided by our mission to 'democratize AI for a better life' and our vision to 'build a world-class perception and computing platform,' we are committed to empowering a smarter, better world through chip innovation."
Alex Zhou, Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners, said: "The Axera team combines deep roots in the semiconductor industry with leading AI algorithm capabilities, and persists with a platform strategy that creates differentiated advantages through vertical IP iteration and horizontal application expansion — giving us firm conviction in their sustained growth in AI chips. I look forward to Axera achieving even more innovation and accelerating further after its IPO. Qiming Venture Partners has always believed that investing in AI represents the greatest certainty in Chinese investing over the next two decades. We adhere to an investment logic of 'moving half a step ahead' — making decisive bets when technological breakthroughs have been validated but market consensus has yet to form. At the same time, we deeply empower companies through 'early engagement and full journey companionship,' providing end-to-end support from core technology R&D to commercialization to capital markets listing. Axera's successful IPO is the most robust validation of our complete investment logic and methodology for AI hard tech."
Chinese Edge AI Chip Leader Axera Lists on Hong Kong Stock Exchange
Axera, a portfolio company of Qiming Venture Partners and a leading Chinese edge AI chip company, successfully listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on February 10th, 2026, Beijing time, becoming the first of its kind to go public. Axera (00600.HK) issued shares at a price of HK$28.2 per share with a market capitalization of HK$ 16.58 billion.
As the first investors in the company, Qiming Venture Partners led the pre-A round financing of Axera in early 2020 and continued to fund the company's development in the following two rounds. Before the firm's IPO, Qiming Venture Partners held a more than 6 percent stake in Axera and was its second-largest institutional investor. With 2026 just beginning, this is already Qiming Venture Partners' third AI portfolio company to go public this year.
Founded in May 2019, Axera is committed to creating world-leading AI perception and edge computing chips for markets such as intelligent vehicles and edge computing. Axera adopts a strategy of "general technology and customized chips" and develops chips customized for different markets relying on its self-developed core technologies such as AXProton AI-ISP and AXNeutron NPU. It also has a complete development tool chain and a diverse ecosystem cooperation system.
Multiple generations of chips independently developed by Axera have been commercialized, covering dozens of types, mass-produced in visual terminal computing, intelligent vehicles, and edge computing AI inference applications, and establishing a leading position in key markets.
Axera is not only among the top 5 global suppliers of visual edge AI inference chips by shipments in 2024, but also takes the first place in the mid-to-high-end market with a 24.1 percent market share. In the intelligent vehicle sector, Axera has risen rapidly to become China's second-largest supplier of domestic intelligent assisted driving chips by the installation volume of intelligent vehicle chips in 2024. By the end of 2025, its cumulative shipments of intelligent vehicle chips had reached nearly 1 million units. Moreover, Axera officially launched a brand-new edge computing business line in 2025, aiming to build an edge intelligence community and promote the large-scale application of AI in all walks of life. The firm has grown into one of the top 3 suppliers in edge computing AI chips in China.
Dr. Xiaoxin Qiu, Founder and Chairman of Axera, said: "This IPO marks a pivotal milestone for Axera's growth, bringing greater social responsibility and heralding a new chapter. Going forward, we will continue to execute our platform strategy to push technological boundaries, expand our business footprint, and accelerate AI's leap from smart digital perception to embodied intelligence."
"Axera has accumulated profound experience in the chip industry and leading core capabilities in AI algorithms, adheres to a platform strategy, and has formed a differentiated advantage by upgrading IP technology and expanding application fields, which makes us firmly believe that the company will grow sustainably in the field of AI chips. I expect that Axera will achieve more innovations and develop faster after its IPO. Qiming Venture Partners has always believed that investing in AI is the greatest certainty in China over the next two decades and sticks to the investment philosophy of 'being half a step ahead' to make decisive moves when technological breakthroughs have been verified but market consensus has not yet formed. Meanwhile, Qiming Venture Partners deeply energizes enterprises using the approach of 'invest in the early stage and accompany all the way', providing them with support in core technology research and development, commercialization, and the whole process of their listing in the capital market. The successful IPO of Axera is the most solid validation of our entire set of investment philosophy and methodology for AI hard technology,"said Alex Zhou, Managing Partner of Qiming Venture Partners.
Qiming Venture Partners was founded in 2006. The firm currently manages 11 USD funds and 7 RMB funds, with total assets under management of $9.5 billion. Since its inception, Qiming Venture Partners has focused on investing in outstanding early and growth-stage companies in Technology and Healthcare.
To date, Qiming Venture Partners has invested in over 580 high-growth innovative companies. More than 210 of these have listed on the New York Stock Exchange, NASDAQ, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Shanghai Stock Exchange, and Shenzhen Stock Exchange, or exited through M&A and other means. Over 80 portfolio companies have become recognized unicorns or super-unicorns.
Many Qiming Venture Partners portfolio companies have grown into the most influential players in their respective fields, including Xiaomi (01810.HK), Meituan (03690.HK), Bilibili (NASDAQ:BILI, 09626.HK), Zhihu (NYSE:ZH, 02390.HK), Roborock (688169.SH), Hesai Technology (NASDAQ:HSAI, 02525.HK), UBTECH (09880.HK), WeRide (NASDAQ:WRD, 00800.HK), HyperStrong (688411.SH), Insta360 (688775.SH), Unisound (09678.HK), Biren Technology (06082.HK), Zhipu AI (02513.HK), Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals (603087.SH), Tigermed (300347.SZ, 03347.HK), Zai Lab (NASDAQ:ZLAB, 09688.HK), CanSino Biologics (688185.SH, 06185.HK), Schrödinger (NASDAQ:SDGR), MicroPort EP MedTech (688617.SH), Sanyou Medical (688085.SH), Amoy Diagnostics (300685.SZ), Sinocelltech (688520.SH), Insilico Medicine (03696.HK), Hope Biosciences, Yuanxin Technology, MediLink Therapeutics, LaNova Medicines, StepFun, and others.