What Is Moore Threads and Why China Thinks It Could Be the Next Nvidia?

What Is Moore Threads and why has it become one of the most discussed GPU companies in China’s fast-evolving AI semiconductor landscape? Moore Threads shocked the market after its IPO surged more than 425%–500%, instantly placing the company among China’s fastest-growing technology firms. Its rise comes at a time when China is accelerating efforts toward GPU self-sufficiency, especially as U.S. export restrictions limit Nvidia’s ability to sell advanced AI chips. With AI compute demand climbing rapidly, investors increasingly view Moore Threads as a strategic domestic alternative.

In this article, we’ll explore its technology, valuation, competition, market drivers, and long-term risks—and assess whether Moore Threads can truly become China’s answer to Nvidia.

Key Takeaways

• Moore Threads stock surged 425–500% on debut, pushing its valuation to around $40B. The dramatic rise highlights how strongly investors view Moore Threads as a key player in China’s AI chip sector.
• The MUSA GPU architecture powers AI training, graphics rendering, simulation, and video workloads. These capabilities position Moore Threads GPUs as a viable domestic alternative for China’s growing AI infrastructure needs.
• Moore Threads is now central to China’s domestic GPU movement, competing alongside MetaX, Biren, and Enflame. Its rapid IPO and expanding product lineup have strengthened its role in China’s semiconductor strategy.
  
  

What Is Moore Threads and How Does It Work?

Moore Threads is a Chinese GPU company founded in 2020 by former Nvidia China executives, focused on full-function GPUs for AI computing, graphics rendering, simulation, and video processing. It is the first among China’s “four GPU dragons” to go public.

How Was Moore Threads Founded and Why Does Nvidia Matter?

Moore Threads was founded by Zhang Jianzhong, who previously served as Nvidia’s China General Manager, giving the company deep insight into global GPU design and market strategy. This Nvidia background matters because it shaped Moore Threads’ technical direction, talent pipeline, and understanding of what it takes to build competitive AI and graphics processors.

Much of the Moore Threads engineering team also comes from Nvidia, which strengthens its ability to develop modern GPU architectures and software stacks. This foundation allows Moore Threads to position itself as China’s closest domestic challenger to Nvidia in the fast-growing AI chip market.

What GPU Technology Powers Moore Threads’ MUSA Architecture?

The company’s products—MTT S60, MTT S80, and MTT S2000—are built on its proprietary MUSA (Moore Threads Unified System Architecture).

MUSA supports:

• DirectX, Vulkan, and OpenGL
• AI model training and inference
• Simulation and rendering
• Multi-platform compatibility including x86, ARM, and LoongArch

This technology positions Moore Threads as a key domestic GPU provider for China’s AI market, especially where Nvidia chips face restrictions.

Who Invested in Moore Threads and Why Are Institutions Backing It?

Moore Threads is backed by leading investors including Tencent, ByteDance, Sequoia China, Shenzhen Capital Group, and GGV, signaling strong institutional confidence in its long-term GPU strategy. These investors bring not only capital but also strategic partnerships across cloud services, gaming, and AI application ecosystems.

Notably, DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng is listed as the top institutional investor, underscoring Moore Threads’ importance within China’s rapidly expanding AI ecosystem. His involvement suggests that major AI developers see Moore Threads as a critical supplier of domestic GPU compute for training models and scaling AI workloads.

Read more: What Are Real-World Assets (RWAs): A Complete Guide To Asset Tokenization

Why Did Moore Threads Stock Surge Over 425%?

The extreme first-day jump in What Is Moore Threads stock reflects a mix of domestic investor enthusiasm, China’s semiconductor policy priorities, limited access to foreign GPUs, and the symbolic importance of building a national alternative to Nvidia. The surge highlights how Moore Threads has become a focal point for both financial speculation and strategic technological ambition within China’s AI ecosystem.

Why Did Retail Investors Drive Massive Demand for Moore Threads?

Retail participation reached unprecedented levels, with 4.82 million investors subscribing to the IPO—one of the highest subscription figures ever recorded on the STAR Market. Demand exceeded available shares by 2,750×, demonstrating an intense appetite for exposure to AI infrastructure companies.

Key factors fueling retail enthusiasm included:

• Perception of Moore Threads as “China’s Nvidia”, strengthening investor confidence.
• Massive media attention surrounding the company’s IPO and technology.
• Limited access to other domestic GPU investment opportunities, giving Moore Threads unique visibility.
• A strong narrative around national self-reliance, encouraging retail investors to back a local champion.

Together, these elements transformed the IPO into a symbolic bet on China’s AI future, amplifying the surge in Moore Threads stock.

How Did China’s Self-Sufficiency Strategy Boost Moore Threads?

China designated AI compute as national-level digital infrastructure, placing domestic GPU development at the center of its long-term technological roadmap. This policy shift directly lifted companies like Moore Threads, which are positioned to supply AI hardware without relying on foreign technology.

Several national-level forces intensified demand for Moore Threads GPUs:

• U.S. export controls severely restricted Nvidia’s high-end GPUs, driving Chinese firms to seek domestic alternatives.
• State-backed funds and public institutions increased their investment in the local semiconductor supply chain.
• AI companies and data centers began pivoting toward Chinese hardware to avoid supply-chain disruptions.
• Moore Threads benefited from early institutional partnerships, giving it credibility against foreign competitors.

These factors elevated Moore Threads from a startup to a strategically important chipmaker, contributing significantly to the stock surge.

Did Moore Threads’ Revenue Growth Offset Its Large Losses?

In 2024, Moore Threads generated 4.38B RMB in revenue, supported by rising adoption of its MUSA-based GPUs and rapid growth in cloud and enterprise demand. Its three-year CAGR above 200% showed strong market traction, but the gains were offset by ~16–19B RMB in cumulative losses driven by heavy R&D spending and the high cost of scaling advanced GPU manufacturing. Moore Threads also continues to trail Nvidia in software ecosystem development, adding further investment pressure. Although profitability remains uncertain, the company’s fast revenue expansion helped reinforce investor confidence and contributed to the surge in Moore Threads stock.

Read more: Warren Buffett AI Stock Strategy: What Investors Can Learn From Berkshire’s New AI Positions?

Moore Threads GPU Technology – Can It Compete with Nvidia?

Moore Threads positions its GPU lineup as a domestic alternative for AI training, graphics workloads, and simulation tasks within China’s fast-growing compute market. While its MUSA-based GPUs show technical ambition and steady improvement, the company still faces a notable performance and ecosystem gap compared with Nvidia’s far more mature platform.

MUSA Architecture Capabilities

The MUSA architecture is the foundation of Moore Threads GPUs, designed to handle a wide range of modern AI and graphics workloads. By combining parallel compute efficiency with flexible multimedia processing, Moore Threads aims to offer a domestic GPU platform capable of supporting China’s rapidly expanding AI ecosystem.

Moore Threads GPUs support:

• High-throughput parallel computing
• AI inference and training
• Video encoding and decoding
• Physics simulation and rendering

These capabilities aim to supply local AI labs with scalable compute solutions.

Performance Gap Remains

Moore Threads still trails Nvidia’s H100/H200 GPUs in raw compute performance, efficiency, and scalability, especially in large-scale AI training. These limitations make it difficult for Moore Threads to match Nvidia’s consistency in enterprise and cloud environments.

Key gaps include:

• Lower overall throughput, affecting training and inference speeds
• Reduced memory bandwidth, limiting complex AI workloads

In addition to hardware differences, Moore Threads also struggles with a weak software stack compared to CUDA, which remains Nvidia’s most powerful competitive advantage. The lack of a mature CUDA-equivalent framework means developers face more friction, slower optimization, and fewer fully supported AI tools when using Moore Threads GPUs.

Domestic Ecosystem Advantage

Moore Threads benefits from strong alignment with China’s rapidly growing AI ecosystem, giving it advantages that extend beyond raw hardware performance. As domestic demand for locally produced compute accelerates, Moore Threads is positioned to serve markets that Nvidia cannot fully reach due to export restrictions.

Moore Threads benefits from:

• Integration into China’s local LLM frameworks
• Policy support for GPU adoption
• Growing demand within domestic data centers

Read more: What Is Asset Tokenization and Its Impact on Global Investors?

Moore Threads vs Nvidia — Is It Really “China’s Nvidia”?

Moore Threads has political momentum and rapid investor excitement, but Nvidia still dominates in hardware performance, software ecosystems, and large-scale AI training capabilities. The comparison highlights both the potential and the challenges Moore Threads faces as it competes in the global GPU market.

Moore Threads Advantages Compared to Nvidia

Moore Threads benefits from several structural advantages within China, allowing it to scale faster domestically than foreign GPU vendors. These strengths help the company win early deployments despite its performance gap with Nvidia.

• Local supply chain stability
• Strong national policy and capital support
• Cost-effective solutions for Chinese cloud providers

Moore Threads Limitations vs Nvidia’s Global Lead

Even with rapid progress, Moore Threads still faces significant limitations when compared to Nvidia’s decades of GPU leadership. Nvidia’s ecosystem strength remains one of the biggest barriers for Moore Threads in both performance and developer adoption.

• CUDA software ecosystem remains unmatched
• Nvidia has 20+ years of GPU iteration advantages
• Superior AI training outputs and mature developer tooling

Moore Threads Long-Term Outlook Against Nvidia

In the long term, Moore Threads has the potential to narrow the gap, but analysts warn its valuation may reflect national symbolism more than current competitiveness. Achieving true parity with Nvidia will require major advances in software frameworks, broader ecosystem adoption, and reliable large-scale chip manufacturing.

Read more: What is Tokenized Stock? A Complete Guide to the Future of Blockchain-Based Equities

MetaX vs Moore Threads — Who Leads China’s GPU Race?

MetaX, another major domestic GPU startup, attracted even stronger retail investor demand than Moore Threads, signaling that China’s GPU market is becoming increasingly competitive. Both companies represent key pillars of China’s semiconductor ambitions, yet they differ significantly in market positioning, technology maturity, and investor momentum.

How MetaX Compares to Moore Threads in China’s GPU Market?

MetaX has emerged as one of China’s most closely watched GPU challengers, gaining rapid attention for its high-performance C600 chip and strong backing from venture capital and government-linked funds. Its fast-growing presence places it in direct competition with Moore Threads as both firms race to supply domestic AI compute.

MetaX:

• 5.17M retail subscribers — higher than Moore Threads’ 4.82M, indicating stronger short-term IPO enthusiasm
• C600 GPU features HBM3e and FP8 precision, aimed at high-performance AI training workloads
• Expected to reach break-even in 2026, suggesting a faster projected path to financial stability

Moore Threads:

• Larger revenue base driven by earlier commercialization and broader customer adoption
• More mature product lineup, including multiple generations of MUSA-based GPUs
• First of China’s “GPU dragons” to list publicly, giving it stronger visibility and institutional recognition
• Strong institutional support from leading tech investors, reinforcing its strategic role in China’s AI chip ecosystem
  
  

What Risks Does Moore Threads Face in 2025?

Although momentum is strong, Moore Threads faces several structural risks that could limit its long-term competitiveness. These challenges span geopolitics, financial sustainability, and software ecosystem maturity — all of which play a critical role in the company’s ability to compete with global GPU leaders.

1. Moore Threads Risk From U.S. Entity List Sanctions

Moore Threads remains heavily affected by its inclusion on the U.S. Entity List, which restricts its access to crucial semiconductor technologies and advanced manufacturing tools. These limitations slow product development cycles and increase reliance on domestic alternatives.

• Listed in October 2023
• Restricted access to high-end semiconductor tools
• Increased dependency on domestic suppliers

2. Moore Threads Risk From Heavy R&D Losses

Rapid growth has come with substantial financial strain, as Moore Threads must invest heavily in GPU research to narrow the gap with Nvidia. Despite rising revenues, its accumulated losses highlight the financial pressure of developing competitive AI hardware.

• Nearly 6B RMB in losses from 2022–2025
• High R&D burn rate to catch up with Nvidia
• Profitability remains distant

3. Moore Threads Risk From Software Ecosystem Gaps

One of Moore Threads’ biggest hurdles is the lack of a robust software ecosystem comparable to Nvidia’s CUDA. Without strong framework support and optimized developer tools, its GPUs struggle to reach full performance potential in AI and LLM workloads.

• No mature CUDA alternative
• Limited support for global frameworks
• Performance gaps in LLM training workloads

Read more: Which Assets Can Be Tokenized?

How Bitget Wallet Helps Users Track AI-Related Assets & Tokenized Stocks?

Many investors following AI hardware companies like Moore Threads diversify through tokenized stocks, stablecoins, and on-chain markets to gain exposure to the broader AI ecosystem. Bitget Wallet supports this by offering secure multi-chain access, zero-fee swaps, and convenient tools for managing AI-sector investment opportunities.

1. Track AI-Sector Tokenized Stocks

Bitget Wallet gives users access to tokenized U.S. stocks, allowing them to gain exposure to semiconductor, GPU, and AI companies directly on-chain. This makes it easier to follow market movements linked to Moore Threads and the global AI hardware sector without relying solely on traditional exchanges.

2. Secure Stablecoin Storage

Users can store and manage stablecoins such as USDT and USDC in a secure, self-custodial environment. Bitget Wallet also offers Stablecoin Earn Plus, enabling users to earn yields of up to 10% APY while keeping funds accessible for future AI-sector investment opportunities.

3. Zero-Fee Memecoin Trading

Bitget Wallet supports zero-fee swaps for trending AI ecosystem tokens, helping users diversify into emerging sectors with minimal cost. This feature is especially useful for investors who want broad exposure to new AI narratives without high transaction fees.

Trade, store, and explore Web3 seamlessly — beginner-ready with Bitget Wallet.

Conclusion

What Is Moore Threads highlights China’s broader effort to build a self-sufficient AI chip ecosystem and reduce reliance on foreign GPU suppliers. Its rapid rise shows strong national momentum, even as challenges in profitability, sanctions, and software development remain.

As interest in AI-related assets grows, investors need simple tools to track exposure across the semiconductor and Web3 markets. Bitget Wallet offers secure stablecoin storage, RWA tokenized stocks, and smooth cross-chain management to support that need.

Manage stablecoins, explore RWA stocks, and access trending tokens — download Bitget Wallet today to stay ahead in the AI investment wave.

Sign up Bitget Wallet now - grab your $2 bonus!

FAQs

1. What Is Moore Threads in the context of China’s GPU market?

Moore Threads is a domestic GPU developer focused on AI chips, graphics processing, and compute acceleration for China’s growing tech ecosystem. It aims to provide a viable alternative to foreign GPU suppliers as demand for AI compute increases.

2. Why did Moore Threads stock surge so quickly?

The surge was driven by massive retail participation and strong national support for semiconductor self-sufficiency. Investors saw Moore Threads as a strategic player in China’s AI infrastructure push.

3. Can Moore Threads compete with Nvidia?

Moore Threads cannot yet match Nvidia’s performance or ecosystem depth, especially in large-scale AI training. However, rapid progress and strong policy backing give it long-term growth potential.

4. What are Moore Threads GPUs used for?

They are used for AI training, graphics rendering, simulation, and high-performance compute workloads across various industries. These capabilities make Moore Threads GPUs relevant for cloud providers, AI startups, and gaming applications.

5. How can I track AI-sector tokenized stocks?

Bitget Wallet allows users to monitor and trade tokenized U.S. stocks directly on-chain. It also provides stablecoin tools and zero-fee swaps for diversified AI investment exposure.

Risk Disclosure

Please be aware that cryptocurrency trading involves high market risk. Bitget Wallet is not responsible for any trading losses incurred. Always perform your own research and trade responsibly.