Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) officially set the stage for a landmark restructuring of its artificial intelligence empire, announcing a proposed spin-off and separate listing of its chip-design unit, Kunlunxin (Beijing) Technology, on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
The Beijing-based internet giant confirmed on New Year’s Day 2026 that it has submitted a confidential listing application for Kunlunxin’s H shares.
The move follows a year of surging demand for domestic silicon as Chinese tech firms race to replace high-end U.S. accelerators amidst ongoing trade restrictions.
By carving out the unit, Baidu aims to independently showcase Kunlunxin’s valuation—which analysts at Jefferies recently pegged between $16 billion and $23 billion—while attracting specialized investors to the capital-intensive semiconductor sector.
Kunlunxin, which originated as Baidu’s internal chip division before being spun off into a subsidiary in 2021, has quickly emerged as a "national champion" candidate.
Its third-generation P800 chips are already powering massive clusters for large language model (LLM) training, and the company recently unveiled a five-year roadmap including the M100 and M300 models slated for 2026 and 2027.
The proposed spin-off is designed to sharpen management accountability and provide Kunlunxin with its own currency for acquisitions and talent retention.
Baidu intends to remain the majority shareholder of the unit post-IPO, ensuring that its "Baige" AI cloud infrastructure continues to benefit from deep hardware-software integration.
Despite the filing, the transaction remains subject to several hurdles, including approvals from the HKEX and the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
Baidu cautioned investors that there is no certainty regarding the final timing or completion of the offering.