Enflame Founders Become Billionaires as Chipmaker Debuts Up 234%

Price ActionProduct / TechGeopolitics

โดย Bloomberg·

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Shanghai Enflame Technology Co. co-founders Zhao Lidong and Zhang Yalin each reached a fortune of $2.5 billion after the Chinese chipmaker's shares soared as much as 234% on their first day of trading Friday in Shanghai, even though the company has never turned a profit since it began in 2018. Enflame, which has fewer than 900 employees and one major customer, is 20% owned by Tencent Holdings Ltd, which is also its biggest client and generated nearly 84% of Enflame's 990 million yuan, or $138 million, in revenue in 2025. The company posted a net loss of 1.16 billion yuan, or $160 million, in 2025 as it invested heavily in research and development, and it faces supply chain bottlenecks, competition from global rivals such as Nvidia Corp. and geopolitical uncertainties that have led to multiple quarters of losses. In late 2023, geopolitical tensions forced Enflame to downgrade certain chip designs to maintain access to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s operations, and it has leaned heavily on Chinese state-backed computing projects in cities like Wuxi and Qingyang to generate revenue. The two co-founders, who worked at Advanced Micro Devices Inc. before starting Enflame, are subject to lengthy lockup periods and must meet certain targets before they can cash out; Enflame didn't respond to requests for comment.

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