Shares closed 384% higher after the firm raised HK$2.5 billion ($323 million) in an initial public offering, giving the company a market value of $10.4 billion. The gain is the second‑best first day performance among Hong Kong IPOs that raised at least $100 million, according to Bloomberg‑compiled data going back to 1985.

The listing of the company, formally known as Shanghai Xizhi Technology Co., attracted cornerstone investors including Alibaba Investment, GIC and Temasek, which together subscribed more than 71% of the offering.

Chinese optical stocks have rallied recently on expectations that AI‑driven demand will fuel the industry’s next leg of gains. Lightelligence says it aims to leverage its first‑mover advantage in optical computing chips for AI inference, a market where penetration in China remains below 0.5% but is projected to climb to 20% by 2040, according to the consultancy Frost & Sullivan.

“The IPO’s strong performance today reflects the momentum that’s been seen in China’s ‘optical trio’ over the past month,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Marvin Chen, referring to gains in Zhongji Innolight Co., Suzhou TFC Optical Communication Co., and Eoptolink Technology Inc. “Tech hardware names are seeing strong momentum in the April rebound as the AI investment cycle continues to broaden out.”

Momentum in the sector was further highlighted last week when Semight Instruments Co., a optical‑communication test‑equipment maker, soared 876% in its Shanghai trading debut.

Founded in 2017, Lightelligence develops optical‑interconnect and optical‑computing solutions aimed at meeting the surging demand for computing‑power driven by generative AI. Optical technology uses light to transfer data and perform computing, enabling faster speeds with lower power consumption.

The company planed to use about 70% of net proceeds for research and development, including on chip-design technology and optical-computing products. It generated a loss of 1.3 billion yuan ($191 million) in 2025, while research and development expenses rose to about 480 million yuan, according to its listing document.