On the morning of October 9, Beijing ESWIN Computing Technology Co., Ltd. (01256.HK, referred to as "ESWIN Computing") was officially listed on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX). The offering price was HKD 1.55, and it opened at HKD 1.540. The stock price fell below the offering price during the trading session, but as of press time, it had risen to HKD 1.605, with a total market capitalization of HKD 35.372 billion.
Against the backdrop of new shares on the A-share SSE STAR Market and the Beijing Stock Exchange often seeing multiples of gains, ESWIN's first-day performance on the Hong Kong stock market appeared restrained. However, considering that the company has accumulated a net loss of CNY 4.9 billion over the past three years and its R&D expenses have consistently exceeded half of its revenue, the offering price of HKD 1.55 was set just above the lower end of the subscription range. The market's pricing of the "first RISC-V stock" instead reflects a degree of rationality.
ESWIN Computing was founded in 2019 by Wang Dongsheng, the 69-year-old founder of BOE. It is the largest domestic provider of human-machine interaction chips for smart terminals in China and ranks third domestically in RISC-V main control chips. The company globally offered 1.57 billion H-shares, raising a total of approximately HKD 2.5 billion, and introduced HKD 1.16 billion in cornerstone investments. The joint sponsors were CITIC Securities and CSC International.
1. From "Screen Shortage" to "Strong Chips": Wang Dongsheng's Second Entrepreneurial Venture
Wang Dongsheng is 69 years old this year, and his first identity is the founder of BOE. In 1993, he took over a nearly bankrupt Beijing electron tube factory, solved China's "screen shortage" dilemma, and built BOE into a leading enterprise in the global semiconductor display industry. He is also known in the industry as the "Father of China's Semiconductor Display Industry". Three months after stepping down as Chairman of BOE in June 2019, he chose to enter the chip sector and founded ESWIN Computing.
The corporate structure of this company is not simple. In 2016, BOE and the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund each invested CNY 1.5 billion. Together with other entities such as Yizhuang Industrial Investment, they invested a total of over CNY 4.1 billion to establish the Beijing Xindongneng Investment Fund. The predecessor of ESWIN Group was an incubation platform established by the Xindongneng Fund team in 2016. In 2019, ESWIN Group implemented an architectural restructuring, spinning off ESWIN Computing and three other companies to take over four business lines: system-level products, 12-inch silicon wafers, board-level system packaging and testing, and display driver chip packaging and testing, allowing different main businesses to raise funds and develop independently.
Wang Dongsheng currently serves as the Executive Director and Chairman of the Strategy and Investment Committee of ESWIN Computing. He chose a relatively niche path—RISC-V. This is an open-source, modular instruction set architecture that requires no licensing fees. Distinct from the two mainstream systems of x86 and Arm, it is regarded by the industry as a strategic opportunity for China's chip industry to break free from licensing dependence. In the management team of ESWIN Computing, Chairman and CEO Mi Peng has been deeply engaged in the semiconductor industry for over 20 years and has held positions in multiple departments at BOE; Co-founder and Vice Chairman Wang Bo has over 20 years of R&D and management experience at Intel; President and COO Hu Weihao, and Senior Vice President and CTO He Ning also have 20 years of experience in the semiconductor industry.
2. No. 1 Domestically in Human-Machine Interaction, but the Market Focuses on Computing Chips
The business of ESWIN Computing is divided into two major segments: human-machine interaction and multimedia processing chips, targeting home, office, and portable devices; and interconnection and computing chips, targeting automotive, robotics, and industrial scenarios.
According to Frost & Sullivan, based on 2025 revenue, ESWIN Computing holds a 5.7% market share in China's smart terminal human-machine interaction chip market, ranking first among domestic brands and fourth globally. In the RISC-V main control chip field, the company's market share is 1.2%, ranking third domestically and fifth globally. As of March 31, 2026, the company has launched more than 150 integrated hardware and software products, serving 220 customers globally, including several top global technology companies.
Specifically regarding products: the AMOLED mobile phone display driver chip EPD8828 has been successfully introduced into the Honor 500 series; the RISC-V OLED touch chip EPH8621 has achieved cumulative sales of millions of units since mass production in 2024; and the EAM2011, targeting automotive scenarios, is the first domestic automotive-grade MCU (Microcontroller Unit) supporting lightweight AI applications. In terms of technological reserves, the company has accumulated over 620 IP modules, more than 20 serialized RISC-V cores, and over 1,740 patent applications. It has 1,001 R&D personnel, accounting for 70% of the total workforce.
What truly excites the market is the change in the computing chip business. In 2025, ESWIN Computing's human-machine interaction chip revenue was CNY 1.856 billion, accounting for 76.3% of total revenue, while computing chips accounted for only 13.2%. However, in the first quarter of 2026, computing chip revenue surged to CNY 223 million, with its share jumping to 45.1%, almost matching the CNY 228 million (46.0% share) of human-machine interaction chips in the same period. Behind this change is the company's RISC-V architecture high-performance AI SoC (System on Chip) development plan launched for large model inference applications. Its RISC-V AI SoC products have been adopted by a leading consumer-grade storage manufacturer for advanced personal storage solutions.
3. CNY 4.9 Billion Loss Over Three Years, but There is Good News in the Books
Regarding the financial reports, let's first lay out the numbers. From 2023 to 2025, ESWIN Computing's operating revenues were CNY 1.752 billion, CNY 2.025 billion, and CNY 2.431 billion, respectively, with a three-year compound growth rate of 17.8%. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue reached CNY 494 million, a year-on-year increase of 18.4%. The net losses attributable to the parent were CNY 1.837 billion, CNY 1.547 billion, and CNY 1.516 billion, respectively, with a cumulative loss of approximately CNY 4.9 billion over the three years. In the first quarter of 2026, the net loss was CNY 375 million. The losses are narrowing, but the company frankly stated that it "will continue to incur net losses in the foreseeable future".
The main reason for the losses is R&D investment. From 2023 to 2025, the company's R&D expenses were CNY 1.445 billion, CNY 1.337 billion, and CNY 1.042 billion, accounting for 82.5%, 66%, and 42.8% of current revenue, respectively. While the absolute amount is decreasing, even calculating based on the lowest figure of CNY 1.042 billion in 2025, R&D investment still accounts for nearly 70% of the absolute value of the net loss in the same period.
The good news is the structural change. After excluding non-cash items such as share-based payments, the adjusted net loss narrowed from CNY 1.705 billion in 2023 to CNY 1.161 billion in 2025, and further compressed to CNY 287 million in the first quarter of 2026. Net cash flow from operating activities turned positive for the first time: in the first quarter of 2026, there was a net inflow of CNY 171 million, marking the company's first time achieving a net operating cash inflow at the quarterly level. As of March 31, 2026, cash and cash equivalents on hand were approximately CNY 1.306 billion.
Gross margin is another focal point. From 2023 to 2025, the company's gross margins were 15.4%, 17.7%, and 18.6%, respectively, falling back to 14.8% in the first quarter of 2026. This fluctuation is mainly affected by the "trading price for volume" strategy—the average selling price of human-machine interaction chips dropped from CNY 20.9 per unit in 2023 to CNY 11.6 per unit in the first quarter of 2026, while sales volume increased from 72.67 million units to 153 million units. Using low prices to boost volume in exchange for market share puts short-term pressure on gross margins, but the elasticity on the revenue side has already become apparent.
The customer structure is also improving. The revenue share of the largest customer (widely considered to be BOE) decreased from 82.1% in 2023 to 64.6% in 2025, and further to 39.3% in the first quarter of 2026. In the first quarter of 2026, the largest customer changed to "Customer I"—disclosed in the prospectus as a subsidiary of a domestic big data and AIDC computing power operation service provider, mainly serving large-scale intelligent computing centers. The combined share of the top five customers also decreased from 90.7% in 2023 to 83.1% in the first quarter of 2026.
4. Shareholders and HKD 2.5 Billion Cornerstone Investments
The equity structure of ESWIN Computing is a typical example of "centralized control by a single largest shareholder group + decentralized shareholding by multiple institutions". Wang Dongsheng, along with Chairman and CEO Mi Peng, Yang Xinyuan, and Liu Haiping, signed a concert party agreement in May 2025 to jointly form the "single largest shareholder group". After the completion of the global offering, they collectively control 29.30% of the voting rights, with Wang Dongsheng personally holding an indirect stake of 31.55% through controlled corporations.
The lineup of institutional shareholders is strong: IDG Capital holds a total of 8.94% through Boxin Chuangcheng, Bosi Zongheng, and Boming Weiye; Legend Capital system holds a total of 5.34%; Beijing Xindongneng (a joint venture between BOE and the first phase of the National Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund) holds 5.78%; the second phase of the National Production and Investment Fund holds approximately 4.79%; and the two employee shareholding platforms, Yili Technology and Yixiang Technology, hold a total of 13.81%. Since its establishment, ESWIN Group has completed four rounds of financing totaling approximately CNY 9.276 billion. The shareholder register also includes CITIC Securities Investment, Wuxi SAIC Jinshi, Shenzhen Tianbao Qiushi, and Hunan Caixin Jingjin, among others. Notably, Wang Dongsheng's sister company, Xi'an ESWIN Materials, was listed on the SSE STAR Market in 2025, raising CNY 4.636 billion. Through this, Wang Dongsheng has formed an "A+H" dual capital platform layout in the semiconductor field.
This issuance introduced HKD 1.16 billion in cornerstone investments from a total of 9 entities, including Yitang Shenghai Fund, Hefei Jiantou, Haiyao Industrial, Qi Zhong International (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hefei Qi Zhong Technology, which is also one of ESWIN's top five suppliers), GBAHIL, CITIC Asset Management Hong Kong, Delin Resources, Orix, and Grit No.1 Equity Fund. Calculated at the offering price of HKD 1.55, the total amount raised is approximately HKD 2.5 billion; the subscription price range is HKD 1.48 to HKD 1.59, with an entry fee of HKD 3,212.1 per lot of 2,000 shares. The use of proceeds is mainly directed towards five major areas: strengthening chip product development and iteration, enhancing the hardware and software capabilities of the RISAA ecosystem platform, potential strategic mergers and acquisitions, building a marketing network and promoting RISC-V ecosystem construction, and supplementing working capital.
5. Concluding Remarks
The offering price of HKD 1.55 for ESWIN Computing and the slight drop below the offering price during the first day of listing reflect a reality that has not yet been fully priced by the market—the RISC-V track is still in its early stages, and the accumulation of x86 and Arm in software ecosystems and developer communities remains difficult to shake. ESWIN's RISC-V computing chip business has just completed a reversal in revenue share in the first quarter of 2026, and the timetable for the profitability turning point is frankly admitted in the prospectus as difficult to realize in the "foreseeable future".
The company's mission is clear: maintain the No. 1 domestic position in human-machine interaction chips, use the computing chip business to support a second growth curve, continuously reduce customer dependence on BOE, and create a turning point in the "cash-burning" curve of R&D investment. HKD 2.5 billion is just the starting point. What the secondary market will look at next are the financial reports—especially whether the share of computing chips can stabilize in the 2026 interim and annual reports, whether the gross margin can stop falling, and whether the operating cash flow can continue to turn positive.
Whether RISC-V can truly become the "third pole" outside of x86 and Arm will determine whether ESWIN Computing is valued as a traditional chip design company or as a RISC-V ecosystem platform company. The market will vote with its feet on this question.
The information in this article is sourced from publicly available corporate information. If you have any questions, please contact the editor's WeChat: xsychief.