Chinese Nvidia rival Enflame soars 206% on stock market debut as AI demand stays hot

SHANGHAI, CHINA - JULY 20, 2026 - Tourists visit the Enflame booth at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, China on July 20, 2026. (Photo credit should read CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty ImagesChinese chipmaker Enflame, which is developing domestic alternatives to U.S. rivals like Nvidia, has seen its stock soar 206% after debuting in Shanghai.The company saw huge demand, with its initial retail offering drawing orders for over 6,000 times the shares available before it reallocated more stock to that group.Enflame, which is backed by tech giant Tencent, is considered one of China's so-called "four little dragons" of AI chipmaking and is the last of that group to go public.The other three all surged on listing, and have remained higher since. In December, MetaX soared nearly 700% on its first day of trading, while Moore Threads gained over 400% on its trading debut. Biren jumped 76% on its IPO in January.Investors are betting on the ability of domestic AI chipmakers to replace Nvidia in China. International chipmakers led by Nvidia accounted for nearly 60% of China's AI accelerator market in 2025, according to ID...