Canaan Technology Successfully Logs In to Nasdaq, Starting a New Journey in AI Chips

On November 21, 2023, at 10:30 PM Beijing time, Canaan Inc. rang the bell for its listing on the NASDAQ in the United States, becoming the first publicly traded mining machine manufacturer and the first blockchain company in China. This listing is of great significance for Canaan, as the company had previously attempted to go public three times without success.

On that day, Canaan Technology started trading at an issue price of $9 per share, which is at the lower limit of the previously set subscription price range of $9 to $11.

At the headquarters in Hangzhou, Canaan Creative held a grand light show to celebrate its listing. This day was hard-earned for founder Zhang Nengeng and his team, who waited 6 years for this moment.

Zhang Nange stated at the Nasdaq bell-ringing ceremony: “Thank you to all my colleagues, investors, and partners. We have experienced failures and successes together, and in the future, we will continue to strive for a better vision.”

Looking back at the development of Canaan, in 2010, Zhang Nengeng, who was still pursuing his PhD, came into contact with Bitcoin and believed it had the potential to change the world. He began researching Bitcoin and designed FPGA mining machines. In 2013, Zhang Nengeng dropped out to start a business, launching the ASIC mining machine codenamed “Avalon,” leading the mining machine into the ASIC era.

However, Bitmain subsequently faced multiple challenges: regulatory tightening at the end of 2013, internal decision-making errors, and the rise of new competitors. It was not until 2015, after receiving external financing, that Bitmain began to develop rapidly. However, in the first half of this year, the company’s performance declined, with a net loss of $45.8 million.

In terms of products, Canaan announced the launch of a 7nm chip in 2018, but so far there have been no mining machines on the market equipped with this chip. The company’s latest A11 mining machine uses an 8nm chip.

After this listing, the company’s management holds a total of 50.8% of the shares. Among them, Li Jiaxuan, Zhang Nangen, Kong Jianping, and Sun Qifeng hold 16.2%, 16.0%, 12.1%, and 5.8% of the shares, respectively.

The road to listing for Canaan has not been smooth. From the first attempt to go public through a shell company in June 2016, to seeking to list on the New Third Board in August 2017, and then applying for a Hong Kong stock listing in May 2018, all three attempts ended in failure. It was not until October 28 of this year that Canaan finally submitted its listing application to the US SEC and successfully logged in to NASDAQ.

Compared to previous times, factors such as the registration system in the U.S. market, favorable policies for emerging growth companies, and the overall market recovery have created favorable conditions for Canaan’s listing this time.

It is worth noting that Canaan positions itself in its prospectus as “a semiconductor company focused on AI chip research and production” and “a leading provider of supercomputing solutions,” while no longer emphasizing its Bitcoin mining business. The company plans to achieve a 1:1 ratio of revenue from mining machines and AI business within three years.

Zhang Nange believes that AI chips will bring huge opportunities to Jia Nan. On one hand, AI chip technology will disrupt traditional computing architectures; on the other hand, the development of 5G provides a solid foundation for the edge AI market.

Although the revenue share of the AI chip business is currently small, Jia Nan has already seen results from its investment in chip research and development. The company has successfully designed and mass-produced 7nm chips and launched edge intelligent computing chips based on the RISC-V architecture.

Zhang Nangen stated that Jia Nan will improve human life through intelligent computing, marking an ongoing industrial revolution and an important opportunity for the company. In the future, Jia Nan will continue to delve into the fields of AI and blockchain, expand into global markets, optimize the supply chain, and strive for technological innovation and business growth.