MetaX Integrated Circuits, a Chinese startup that designs graphics processing units (GPUs), announced on Tuesday the completion of its Series Pre-B funding round at 1 billion yuan (almost $150 million) as it rides on the tailwind of Beijing’s pledge to realise technological self-reliance.
The new funding comes less than a year after MetaX closed 1 billion yuan in a Series A round led by two Chinese state-owned equity investment platforms, namely the China Structural Reform Fund and China Internet Investment Fund.
At a time when state-linked investors have emerged as frontrunners in backing some of China’s top technology startups — especially in Beijing’s much-touted semiconductor sector — MetaX’s Series Pre-B round continued to attract the participation of investors with a government background.
Its Series Pre-B round was jointly led by the 10-billion-yuan ($1.5 billion) CCTV Financial Media Industry Investment Fund, which was set up in 2021 by companies including Chinese state-owned media group China International Television Corp to invest in the integration of media with advanced technologies.
The other lead investor is Shanghai’s Chaos Investment, whose businesses span private equity (PE), stock investments, and derivatives trading, among others.
Shanghai Guosheng Group, a state capital investor in Shanghai, tech-focused PE companies Hermitage Capital and Puchao Capital, and other investors participated in the deal, alongside existing shareholders such as China Internet Investment Fund and Matrix Partners China. Investment bank Lighthouse Capital served as the exclusive financial advisor of the round.
Founded in 2020, MetaX focuses on the development of high-performance GPU processors to enable functions such as graphics and video rendering, artificial intelligence (AI) training, and data analytics for applications across areas including gaming, data centres, and the emerging concept of metaverse – a virtual universe that blends aspects of video-conferencing, cloud gaming, social media, and beyond.
The Shanghai-based startup is targeting this competitive GPU market currently dominated by the likes of Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Nvidia, most of which are foreign players with proprietary technologies, making it hard for any domestic companies in China to take a slice of the market share. Globally, the GPU market is anticipated to hit $165.6 billion by 2028 with a year-over-year (YOY) growth of about 31.9% between 2021 and 2028, according to Market Study Report, a market research company.
“As a homegrown GPU design company, MetaX rides on the development of China’s digital economy industry with solutions to address rising market demand… [Its proprietary GPU chips] are expected to offer the critical computing power to the coming era of big data and AI,” said Shuguang Hu, managing director of Haitong Leading Capital Management, which manages CCTV Financial Media Industry Investment Fund.
With branches and R&D centres across Chinese cities like Beijing, Nanjing, and Shenzhen, MetaX has built a portfolio of products including a patented GPU architecture, as well as high-performance GPU processors and solutions for use in AI training, scientific computing, and cloud gaming. It currently works with server original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), data centres, Internet operators, and research institutions to help promote the semiconductor industry ecosystem in China, according to its website.