Fourier Semiconductor, which has no cornerstone backing, a starting stock price of 40 HKD, and annual sales of 470 million chips, suddenly faces a patent lawsuit during its IPO.

Everyday News Reporter | Huang Wanyin Everyday News Editor | Bi Luming

After passing the secret listing review and hearing at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, Shanghai Fourier Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (HK03625) (hereinafter referred to as “Fourier Semiconductor”) has quickly launched its IPO.

Fourier Semiconductor closed its Hong Kong stock offering on March 26 and plans to officially list on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on March 31. Guotai Junan Securities and Orient Securities International are joint sponsors, with no cornerstone investors participating.

The company plans to issue 12 million shares globally, with an offering price range of HKD 40 to HKD 50 per share. Each lot consists of 100 shares, with a subscription amount of HKD 5,050 per lot, potentially raising up to HKD 600 million.

This manufacturer, focused on perceptive intelligent audio chips, expects total shipments to surpass 470 million units in 2024. Despite having top-tier clients like Samsung, Xiaomi, and vivo in consumer electronics and automotive sectors, it has yet to turn a profit.

Fourier Semiconductor’s recent growth story can be described as a typical “price-for-volume” strategy to break through.

Founded in 2016, Fourier Semiconductor quickly rose to become a leading player in the global audio amplifier chip market through aggressive market tactics. In 2024, its global shipment of audio amplifier chips reached 460 million units. According to a report by Frost & Sullivan, this places Fourier Semiconductor third in the global market share in this segment, and third in China, with about a 4.7% gap behind the first.

However, behind the soaring sales are slim profits or even long-term losses. To rapidly capture market share, Fourier Semiconductor has significantly cut product prices. In 2023, the average price of its low-power audio chips dropped sharply from HKD 1.08 to HKD 0.66, and the average price of adaptive power control audio chips fell from HKD 0.91 to HKD 0.56. Gross profit margins also declined from 17% in 2022 to 2.7%.

In its IPO prospectus, Fourier Semiconductor mentioned that from 2020 to 2023, prices for audio chips in China declined mainly due to industry-wide inventory adjustments. After 2024, inventory adjustments are expected to largely conclude. Prices are projected to stabilize and gradually recover starting in 2025. By 2029, the average chip price is expected to rebound to HKD 1.3 per unit.

Additionally, the company’s gross margin has fluctuated in recent years, with margins of 7.3% in 2022, -0.1% in 2023, 13.1% in 2024, and 20% in the first ten months of 2025 (hereinafter referred to as the reporting period).

Although gross margins are expected to continue improving, the company remains unprofitable. During the reporting period, Fourier Semiconductor recorded losses of approximately HKD 51.78 million in 2022, 2023, and 2024, and again about HKD 51.78 million in the first ten months of 2025, an increase compared to the same period in 2024. The company explained that this was due to increased administrative expenses (including one-time listing costs) and higher financial costs related to business expansion.

Notably, on March 16, the day after Fourier Semiconductor’s hearing, one of its peers, Aiwei Electronics (SH688798), filed a lawsuit alleging infringement of invention patents, with a court date set for April 27. Fourier Semiconductor is the defendant in this civil case. Tianyancha shows this is currently the only legal case involving Fourier Semiconductor.

The entrepreneurial story of Fourier Semiconductor began with a shared background at a major semiconductor company.

Founder and Chairman Xu Xiaolin and Vice President and Algorithm Application Director Liu Baoliang both previously worked at NXP Semiconductors (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.—a subsidiary of the NASDAQ-listed NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXPI). They worked together for many years and had a three-year colleague experience. In 2016, amid the wave of domestic substitution in the semiconductor industry, Xu and Liu almost simultaneously left this international giant and quickly founded Fourier Semiconductor.

Since its establishment, Fourier Semiconductor has completed 11 rounds of financing, backed by prominent investors including Dachen Capital, the Surpass Moore Fund under the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund, Transsion Holdings, Longqi Technology (603341.SH, 09611.HK), and others. Its latest Series D valuation is approximately HKD 2.775 billion.

According to the latest IPO information, Fourier Semiconductor did not introduce any cornerstone investors in this Hong Kong IPO.

Based on a median issue price of HKD 45 (assuming the over-allotment option is not exercised), the company expects to raise about HKD 480 million. The funds will be mainly used for R&D center construction, procurement of automatic testing equipment, hiring supply chain management engineers, product marketing, and working capital. About 46.8% of the funds over the next five years will be used to establish a new R&D center to enhance the development of amplifier audio chips.

In addition to strengthening its mobile phone market, Fourier Semiconductor is accelerating its penetration into tablets, smartwatches, and automotive sectors. In the first ten months of 2025, its automotive products contributed its first profit, with a gross margin of 47.4%, the highest among all product categories.

Cover image source: Everyday Media Asset Library