The trend of mainland Chinese tech companies flocking to list in Hong Kong shows no sign of abating. The latest to make its stock market debut is Gpixel Changchun Microelectronics, a developer of CMOS image sensors that enable robots to “see.” Shares of the company, headquartered in the Chinese industrial hub of Changchun, rose 144% since its listing on Friday, making founder and chairman Wang Xinyang a billionaire.

Wang, 46, is Gpixel’s largest shareholder with a 23% stake. Together with the 1.6% holding of his wife Zhang Yanxia, Gpixel’s chief operation officer, Wang is worth $1.3 billion based on Tuesday’s closing price of HK$97.5. Gpixel didn’t respond to a request for comment regarding Wang’s billionaire status.

Gpixel’s IPO raised HK$2.6 billion ($332.4 million), drawing cornerstone investors including private equity giants Hillhouse Investment and Boyu Capital, as well as early ByteDance backer Source Code Capital and Hong Kong-based Value Partners. Gpixel disclosed in its prospectus that it will use 76% of the IPO proceeds for R&D investments, including building a new R&D center in Hangzhou, and the rest to expand operations in Hong Kong, South Korea and Japan. 

The company specializes in CMOS image sensors, which are chips that convert light into electrical signals to capture images, and are embedded in a range of electronic products from smartphones and cameras to X-ray machines and robots. Operating under a fabless model, Gpixel designs sensors that are mostly used for industrial applications, such as detecting defects in semiconductor manufacturing and robot navigation. They are also deployed in advanced cameras, such as those used for scientific research.

By Zinnia Lee,

Forbes Staff

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