Baidu Spins Out Kunlunxin: $14.7 Billion Dual IPO in Hong Kong and Shanghai

China's Baidu is pushing its in-house AI chip unit Kunlunxin toward a dual listing in Hong Kong and on Shanghai's STAR Board, with a Hong Kong valuation target of at least 100 billion yuan ($14.69 billion), according to two people who spoke with the South China Morning Post.

The Details

Hong Kong valuation target: at least 100 billion yuan ($14.69 billion)

Prior reference point: at least $3 billion market value, Bloomberg in December

Baidu stake in Kunlunxin: 58 percent

Shanghai listing path: STAR Board (Sci-Tech Innovation Board)

Shanghai sponsor and tutor: China International Capital Corp (CICC)

Hong Kong status: confidentially filed earlier in 2026, listing expected Q3 (Jefferies)

Tape on the day: Baidu Hong Kong shares up as much as 4.1 percent on Friday

Shanghai backdrop: STAR 50 Index up more than 20 percent in 2026, all-time high Thursday

Why Beijing wants this listing to work

Kunlunxin is the most prominent name in a wave of AI chip spinouts that Beijing is funneling toward domestic markets to fund its self-reliance push against US chip restrictions. Shanghai Biren Technology, Metax Integrated Circuits, and Moore Threads have all listed since 2025, and all have rallied since their debuts. Baidu rival Alibaba is reported to be preparing a similar carve-out of its own chip arm.

The Hong Kong tape is also doing its part. STAR Board appetite is running hot, and Chinese AI developers like DeepSeek and ByteDance keep releasing models that pull demand toward domestic chip suppliers such as Huawei and Cambricon, on top of what is already a tight market.

The five times jump in valuation, from Bloomberg's $3 billion December reference to today's $14.7 billion target, mirrors what is happening across the rest of China's chip listings. For Baidu, a successful Kunlunxin spinout means a separately funded chip business and a higher group sum-of-parts. For Beijing, it is another champion priced and ring-fenced inside Chinese capital markets.

Sources: Business Times Singapore, South China Morning Post