Media365
Shares of METiS TechBio surged 173 per cent on their Hong Kong debut on Wednesday as the AI-driven drug design start-up’s initial public offering drew strong demand from investors amid buoyant sentiment for AI-related stocks in the city.
Its stocks first traded at HK$28.68, significantly higher than its offering price of HK$10.50 each.
Co-founder and CEO of METiS TechBio, Lai Tsai-Ta, who obtained a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the US, said artificial intelligence had shortened drug development from years to just 18 months, said
“We see ourselves like a SpaceX-style company,” he said. “We use AI algorithms to design a large number of nano-rockets. Pharma companies can load their own drugs onto our rockets through nanodelivery platforms to make products.”
The company raised HK$2.11 billion (US$269.5 million) from the sale of 201.23 million shares at HK$10.50 each, making it the third AI-driven drug developer to list in Hong Kong after XtalPi’s debut in June 2024, and Insilico Medicine’s offering in December 2025.
METiS TechBio’s shares drew strong demand from both retail and institutional investors, as buyers from the mainland and overseas snapped up AI-related stocks in Hong Kong amid a wave of Chinese hi-tech companies rushing to list on the city’s stock exchange. Mike Leung Kit-man, director at Wocom Securities, said, “Several AI-related IPOs have seen their share prices multiply since listing.”
