# The firm that wires AI data centres is chasing Hong Kong’s biggest IPO since Alibaba. > Source: > Published: 2026-07-20 12:15:36+00:00 One of the quiet winners of the AI boom is about to test the public markets. Zhongji Innolight, a Chinese maker of high-speed optical transceivers, has started gauging demand for a Hong Kong listing worth as much as $8bn. The Shenzhen-listed company won approval for the deal on Friday, [Bloomberg reported](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-07-20/zhongji-innolight-starts-gauging-interest-for-hong-kong-listing). It began meeting analysts and investors on Monday and could start taking orders as soon as this week. The size and timing may still change. ## Why it matters Optical transceivers are the unglamorous plumbing of the AI build-out. They convert data into light and back again, moving it between the chips and servers packed inside a data centre. As AI systems grow, so does the need for them. Innolight is one of the biggest suppliers in the world. Its InnoLight subsidiary calls itself a leader in data-centre optics, and shipped some of the industry’s first 800G modules back in 2020. It sits in the same picks-and-shovels lane as [Eoptolink](https://thenextweb.com/news/eoptolink-5bn-hong-kong-listing-ai-optical), a rival that is lining up its own Hong Kong listing of up to $5bn. The demand shows up in the numbers. Innolight posted first-quarter revenue of 19.5bn yuan ($2.9bn), close to three times the figure a year earlier. Profit rose almost fourfold, to 6.3bn yuan. Its Shenzhen shares have climbed about 430% over the past year. The company took its current shape by pairing an industrial-equipment business with its optics arm, InnoLight, in Suzhou. A heavyweight bank syndicate is running the sale. Goldman Sachs, China International Capital Corp, Morgan Stanley and GF Securities are leading it, with Citigroup, HSBC and others also on the deal. ## Hong Kong’s biggest since Alibaba At $8bn, the listing would be Hong Kong’s largest first-time share sale since Alibaba raised $12.9bn in 2019. It would easily top Luxshare Precision’s $3.1bn debut this month to become the city’s biggest of the year, [CNBC noted](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/20/-chinas-zhongji-innolight-sees-shares-surge-after-hong-kong-listing-approval-.html). It caps a bumper run for the city. Hong Kong just logged its strongest first half for listings in five years, raising about HK$210bn across 85 deals, according to KPMG. Analysts count more than 500 companies in the pipeline. Innolight’s offering could push the 2026 total past the roughly $37bn raised in all of 2025. Much of that boom is a China AI story. A string of firms tied to the AI supply chain, from optical parts to memory, have rushed to [list in Hong Kong](https://thenextweb.com/news/moonshot-ai-ipo-six-months-30-billion-kimi-k3) this year, joining names such as memory maker [CXMT](https://thenextweb.com/news/cxmt-ipo-shanghai-record-85-billion-valuation). ## The catch The timing is not all smooth. Chip stocks have slid lately on [worries](https://thenextweb.com/news/kimi-k3-china-ai-tech-rout-selloff) that the AI spending spree is getting harder to justify. Innolight’s own shares sit about 27% below their June peak. That is the wider question hanging over the AI trade, and over the [boom-and-bust](https://thenextweb.com/news/ai-memory-crunch-boom-bust-2028) risk in its supply chain. For now, the money is still flowing, and Innolight wants to raise its share while it can. The company did not respond to a request for comment. ## Get the TNW newsletter Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.