China AI chip leader Cambricon sees record earnings boost from DeepSeek
Briefly

Cambricon reported a 1.03 billion yuan profit in the first half, reversing a prior loss of 533 million yuan on a roughly 44-fold revenue surge to 2.9 billion yuan. Shares rose over 8% in Shanghai and the company doubled its market value to about $80 billion this month, becoming a top-performing Chinese stock in 2024. Chinese authorities have urged agencies to adopt homegrown chips, citing security and export-curb uncertainty, boosting sentiment for domestic chipmakers amid geopolitical tensions and supply-chain disruptions. Major firms and startups increasingly use domestic alternatives to foreign accelerators, and the State Council reaffirmed support for AI adoption and intelligent systems.
Cambricon Technologies Corp. swung to a record profit in the first half, reflecting a wave of demand for Chinese chips after Beijing encouraged the use of homegrown technology in a post-DeepSeek AI boom. The Chinese AI chip designer, which competes with Huawei Technologies Co. to provide accelerators for developing and hosting AI models, posted a 1.03 billion yuan profit ($144 million) versus a year-earlier loss of 533 million yuan. That's off a roughly 44-fold surge in revenue to 2.9 billion yuan. Its shares climbed more than 8% in Shanghai.
The Chinese authorities have urged local agencies to use homegrown chips, citing security concerns as well as persistent uncertainty over the Trump administration's export curbs. That's lifted sentiment toward chipmakers amid rising geopolitical tensions and supply chain disruptions. Cambricon-one of the largest listed AI chip designers-has doubled its market value to $80 billion this month alone. That's after becoming China's top performing stock of 2024, riding investor enthusiasm over government support for local tech. On Tuesday, the State Council reaffirmed support for AI adoption as well as the development of intelligent vehicles and robots-all of which require AI processors.
"Amid U.S. restrictions on China's AI sector, government support for leading domestic firms is essential to drive growth and replace imported chips," said Ma Cheng, chairman of Shenzhen Juze Investment Management Co. "Such protection is necessary, and Cambricon's growth is far from temporary."
Read at Fortune Asia
[
|
]