Shanghai Xizhi Technology Co., Ltd., a domestic leader in optoelectronic hybrid computing, is preparing to enter the capital markets. According to multiple sources, the company plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong, with the listing process potentially advancing as early as this year. The expected fundraising size is approximately $300 to $400 million.

Founded in 2017, this photonic chip company is backed by a long list of institutional investors, including Baidu, Tencent, China Mobile, Shanghai Guotou, Sequoia Capital, CICC Capital, and China Merchants Capital. The earliest investors during the seed round were Baidu Ventures and ZhenFund.

Beyond its technological narrative, the company is often remembered for its founder, Shen Yichen. Shen carries a legendary label in the industry: the "light-chasing youth" from MIT. In 2014, at just 25 years old and while pursuing a Ph.D. in physics at MIT, he published a paper as first author in Science titled "Wide-Band Optical Angular Selectivity," quickly gaining recognition in the field of nano-optics. In the following years, he authored 25 papers in top-tier academic journals and filed 10 technology patents.

Before completing his doctorate, several overseas technology companies offered him positions with annual salaries reaching millions of dollars. However, Shen ultimately chose to return to China to start his own business. After graduating in 2016, he published a cover paper in Nature Photonics titled "Deep Learning with Nanophotonic Circuits," proposing a method for deep learning computation using coherent nanophotonic circuits. This was regarded as a significant breakthrough in integrated photonic computing.

In 2018, he founded Xizhi Technology in Shanghai, aiming to transition photonic computing from the laboratory to industrial application. Capital quickly took notice. The company completed its seed funding round upon establishment, raising $10 million from investors including Baidu Ventures and ZhenFund. Subsequently, it secured multiple rounds of financing within two years: a $26 million Series A round in April 2020, led by Matrix Partners China and CICC Silicon Valley Fund, followed by a tens of millions of dollars Series B round in July of the same year, with investors such as HLC Capital.

Later, Tencent Investment, Sequoia Capital, CAS Star, and China Merchants Capital joined the shareholder list. The Shanghai Science and Technology Innovation Fund, initiated by Shanghai International Group, also led the company's Series B financing.

The most recent major funding round occurred in September 2025. Xizhi Technology completed a Series C round exceeding 1.5 billion yuan, with participation from China Mobile, Shanghai Guotou, Guoxin Fund, Pudong Capital, and Tencent, among others. Existing shareholders like CAS Star and Yijing Capital continued to add investment. The funds are primarily allocated for core technology research and development and the scaled implementation of optoelectronic hybrid computing.

The company's technological roadmap is a key factor attracting investment. Xizhi Technology focuses on optoelectronic hybrid computing, building two product lines—photonic computing and photonic networks—centered around three core technologies: optical Matrix Arithmetic Core (oMAC), optical Network-on-Chip (oNOC), and optical Network-on-Board (oNET).

Now, less than a decade after its founding, the company is preparing to list on the Hong Kong stock market. For Xizhi Technology, the IPO may represent just a new chapter in its capital story, while founder Shen Yichen's entrepreneurial journey continues to extend from laboratory research to the capital markets.