# Enflame jumps 206% as China's chip bet pays off

> The last of China's "four little dragons" of AI chipmaking hit the market and investors went in hard.
- Title: Enflame jumps 206% as China's chip bet pays off · CNBC
- Summary: The last of China's "four little dragons" of AI chipmaking hit the market and investors went in hard. China's domestic AI chipmakers are being priced for an…
- Keywords: ai chips, china, ipo, nvidia, semiconductors, business, finance, Enflame, jumps, 206, China's, chip
- Source: CNBC — https://cnbc.com/2026/09/11/chinese-nvidia-rival-enflame-stock-market-debut-ai.html
- Author: Kai Nicol-Schwarz,Jenny Lee,Evelyn Cheng
- Published: 2026-09-11T01:53:08+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: ai chips, china, ipo, nvidia, semiconductors, business, finance
## A 206% first day
Enflame, a Chinese chipmaker building alternatives to Nvidia, more than tripled on its Shanghai debut. Retail orders came in for over 6,000 times the shares on offer.
## The last little dragon
Tencent-backed Enflame is the final member of China's "four little dragons" of AI chipmaking to list. MetaX rose nearly 700% in December, Moore Threads over 400%, Biren 76% in January.

> Enflame is the last of China's "four little dragons" of AI chipmaking to go public.
## Betting against Nvidia
Foreign chipmakers led by Nvidia held nearly 60% of China's AI accelerator market in 2025. Export controls and Beijing's push for self-sufficiency have squeezed that channel shut.
## An $82 billion buildout
Goldman Sachs expects China's semiconductor capital spending to hit $82 billion by 2030, spread across chips, foundries, memory and advanced packaging as generative AI demand grows.
## Homegrown chips, homegrown models
Z.ai says its GLM-5.3-Flash model runs entirely on China-made silicon, likely mixing Huawei and Enflame parts. Moonshot's Kimi K3 has closed much of the gap to frontier US models.

> Rival Z.ai said its GLM-5.3-Flash model runs entirely on China-made chips.
## Growing fast, still losing money
Revenue rose to 990 million yuan ($147 million) in 2025 from 722 million, with no profit yet. IPO money goes toward fifth- and sixth-generation chips meant to match high-end rivals.
## Key takeaway

China's domestic AI chipmakers are being priced for an Nvidia-free future, and buyers are lining up long before the profits arrive.