Baidu’s Kunlunxin plans Hong Kong IPO at $50 billion valuation

Baidu’s Kunlunxin unit is preparing a Hong Kong IPO at a target valuation of $50 billion, with prospective investors being asked to pledge chip purchases worth three to seven times their planned subscription amounts.

Baidu confidentially filed a listing application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on January 1, 2026. The proposed spin-off is meant to better reflect Kunlunxin’s value, attract investors focused on AI chips, broaden financing channels and align management accountability with performance. Kunlunxin is expected to remain a subsidiary after any deal, with final terms still unsettled and approvals from Hong Kong and China regulators still required.

Kunlunxin began as an internal Baidu chip project in 2011 and was spun out into a separate company in April 2021, when a fundraising round valued it at about 13 billion yuan, or roughly $3 billion. The company has mainly supplied chips to Baidu, but it has expanded external sales over the past two years, and more than half of its 2025 revenue was expected to come from outside customers. Revenue was projected at more than 3.5 billion yuan in 2025, and the business was targeting break-even.

Baidu’s February 2026 results showed the Kunlunxin spin-off and separate listing was progressing. In the same results, Baidu Core AI-powered Business revenue was RMB 11.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 and RMB 40.0 billion for the full year, with operating cash flow turning positive in the second half of 2025.

Onshore technology IPOs were on track for their strongest year since 2023 as Beijing pressed to support domestic chip and AI companies and reduce dependence on foreign technology amid rivalry with the United States. ByteDance has considered using Kunlunxin chips, and Tencent is already a customer. Baidu shares rose more than 6% in Hong Kong after the IPO news.