Former AMD Engineer may become a billionaire after Chinese chip IPO set to list at $5.9 billion
China is set to add another billionaire from a Chinese chip maker to its rich list in just a few days.
About half a decade ago, Chen Weiliang left his 14-year career as a senior executive at Advanced Micro Devices to start his own chip startup.
This initiative – MetaX Integrated Circuits Shanghai Co. – It is set to list in Shanghai on Wednesday at a whopping $5.9 billion valuation. Chen owns 55 million shares in the company, worth at least 5.8 billion yuan ($824 million) at the offer price, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The 49-year-old’s rise to the top of billionaire status follows the trajectory of Moore Threads Technology Co. founder Zhang Jianzhong (former Nvidia Corp. executive); his net worth rose to $4.3 billion after his company’s IPO earlier this month.
Both founders reflect the rise of a new billionaire class in China, fueled by Beijing’s push to create a self-sufficient chip supply chain. But its companies remain exposed to geopolitical pressures, intense cash burn, intense domestic competition and hardware dependencies that could quickly test these gains.
“In the technology war between China and the US, companies in Beijing’s priority sectors are receiving support well beyond normal levels,” said Shen Meng, director of Beijing-based investment bank Chanson & Co. “While R&D is manageable for founders with U.S. industry experience, Chinese firms still lag significantly behind global leaders in terms of system-level performance, ecosystems, and manufacturing.”
‘AMD Gang’
One of the key drivers of MetaX’s rapid rise has been Chen’s aggressive recruitment of top engineering talent, which has allowed him to bypass the typical startup learning curve. Among his first hires were chief technology officers Peng Li and Yang Jian, one of AMD’s first female Chinese scientists.
Like Moore Threads, MetaX’s IPO made many people associated with the firm rich. Peng and Yang are set to see their wealth increase to $56.7 million with the IPO.
Chen, who studied at the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China and completed a master’s degree in engineering at Tsinghua University, also recruited a roster of former AMD colleagues who now hold key management roles at MetaX. These include Chen Yang, Zhou Jun and Wang Ding.
To capture this talent, Chen transformed much of his R&D department into high-net-worth individuals by forming a series of limited partnerships before the IPO. According to the prospectus, the company distributed 461 million yuan ($65.5 million) in stock-based compensation to employees in 2024 alone, with the bulk of it going to key executives.
Yet more than 80% of its 870-strong workforce holds indirect stakes through shareholding platforms. At the offer price, a stake of just 0.017% is enough to mint a US dollar millionaire.
“It’s almost the only way to leave a stable job and attract a stable candidate,” said Echo Wang, regional manager at tech recruiting firm Hays Shanghai. Top talent from global giants command top-tier cash packages, and startups can often only compete by offering attractive equity incentives to make up the difference, Wang said.
Cash Burn
The IPO puts MetaX in a heated race among China’s chip ‘unicorns’ as they fight for the domestic market left by Western technology export controls.
Alongside US chip giants such as Nvidia and AMD, MetaX faces a crowded field of domestic rivals. These include Moore Threads, Huawei Technologies Co., Hygon Information Technology Co. and Cambricon Technologies Corp. It is located.
“Huawei, Hygon and Cambricon are considered to have more mature products and customer relationships,” said BDA China Consulting Director Matthew Deng.
MetaX is burning cash at a rapid pace to close the gap with Nvidia in terms of system-level performance and throughput. From 2022 to 2024, MetaX spent over 2.2 billion yuan on R&D alone. While revenue is growing rapidly (reaching 915 million yuan in the first half of 2025, surpassing the entire previous year), profitability remains elusive. The company reported a net loss of 1.41 billion yuan in 2024. MetaX predicts it will reach breakeven by 2026; This goal relies heavily on ensuring that the flagship C500 chip holds up against rivals like Huawei’s Ascend series.
Beyond the financials, the company displays a vulnerability common to China’s import substitution champions: dependence on a handful of buyers. One of its biggest customers in the first quarter of 2025 was H3C Technologies Co., a subsidiary of a Beijing-backed conglomerate that serves as the primary conduit for domestic chips entering government data centers.
Another risk lies in production. MetaX operates as a “fableless” chipmaker; it designs the chips but relies on third-party foundries to produce them. MetaX’s supply chain remains a vulnerability as the US tightens restrictions on China’s access to advanced lithography.
“If our major suppliers experience capacity constraints or are subject to trade restrictions, our ability to deliver products could be significantly impaired,” the prospectus said.
