India's RRP Semiconductor jumped more than 55,000% in twenty months

RRP Semiconductor just delivered a market run that looks unreal even for this AI-crazy cycle, jumping 55,000% in twenty months and turning itself into the strongest stock on the planet with a value of $1.78 billion as of press time.

A tiny float and nonstop social hype kept RRP’s stock locked at its daily limit-up for 149 sessions, and both its exchange and the company warned buyers while the rally kept going.

The story flipped when regulators stepped in. The Securities and Exchange Board of India opened a review into the surge, so the stock now trades only once a week under new exchange rules and has slipped 6% from its Nov. 7 high.

Tracking the cracks as regulators act

India has few listed chipmakers, and that gap turned RRP into a proxy for traders chasing the AI boom that lifted names like Nvidia.

Sonam Srivastava of Wryght Research & Capital Pvt. said “semiconductors have been really hot,” adding that traders jump at any local name tied to the space. The rush came even as exchanges across Asia pushed alerts.

Moore Threads in Shanghai fell 13% on Dec. 12 after flagging risk. SK Hynix dropped after the Korean exchange raised a warning on Dec. 11.

BSE, the exchange where RRP trades, said its surveillance steps went out through market circulars. RRP Electronics, owned by RRP Group founder Rajendra Chodankar, declined comment because of a legal appeal. His ties to RRP and a batch of related firms added more heat to the mystery around the stock.

RRP’s shift started in early 2024 when Chodankar took control of G D Trading and Agencies by clearing an 80 million-rupee loan owed by its founders.

On April 23, the board approved selling him and others shares at 12 rupees each, which was well below market price. The deal gave Chodankar 74.5% ownership and cut the founders to under 2%. The company later changed its name to RRP Semiconductor.

Two months before that, Chodankar set up RRP Electronics Pvt. to build a chip assembly and testing plant in Maharashtra, a detail that fed traders’ belief that the listed company was part of the same semiconductor push.

At an event in Navi Mumbai in September, he said, “India is going to be a superhuman, it’s established beyond doubt.”

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar were present at the launch, according to RRP’s videos.

Showing the links behind the rally

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chip plan, a 760 billion-rupee program, attracted $18 billion from Micron, Tata, Foxconn and HCL Technologies.

RRP listed RRP Electronics as a related party since Chodankar owns both, though the listed firm does not have a stake in the private one.

About 98% of RRP’s shares sit with Chodankar and a small group tied to several RRP-linked companies, filings show. The exchange withdrew approval for a share sale in April and placed the stock under strict surveillance a year ago. SEBI had already said in 2024 that the firm fell under a group barred from the market after Shree Vindhya Paper Mills was delisted in 2017.

A person at BSE said the exchange had an “internal lapse” when reviewing RRP’s offering and may ask SEBI if the lock-in should be extended. BSE said RRP stated in its application that it and its directors were not barred.

As the stock exploded from 20 rupees in April 2024, Chodankar left the board. The CFO quit, then returned as company secretary.

RRP filed a police report against a social-media influencer for spreading claims about ties to Tendulkar and state land.

In a Nov. 3 filing, the firm said it had not started chipmaking work, had not applied for government programs, and denied celebrity links.

Financials showed negative revenue of 68.2 million rupees and a net loss of 71.5 million rupees in the September quarter.

The negative revenue came after RRP reversed sales from a 4.4-billion-rupee deal with Telecrown Infratech that fell apart over “contractual disagreements.” It also canceled 80 million rupees of revenue earlier in the year.