China's GPU leaders Cambricon and MetaX reported strong first-quarter results driven by demand for local AI chips. Cambricon's revenue jumped 160 per cent year-on-year to 2.89 billion yuan (US$423 million), with profit soaring 185 per cent to 1 billion yuan. The Beijing-based firm attributed the growth to a 'sustained surge in the AI industry’s computing power demand'.
Cambricon Technologies disclosed in a filing on Wednesday that its first-quarter revenue jumped 160 per cent from a year earlier to 2.89 billion yuan (US$423 million), while profit soared 185 per cent to 1 billion yuan. Sometimes dubbed “little Nvidia” in China, the Beijing-based, Shanghai-listed company attributed its strong growth to a “sustained surge in the AI industry’s computing power demand”.
The company said last month it planned to distribute a cash dividend of 15 yuan (US$2.20) for every 10 shares held, totalling more than 632 million yuan. This follows its February announcement of swinging to a net profit of 2 billion yuan last year, after years of losses.
MetaX, founded in 2020 by former engineers of US chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices, attributed its increased revenue to significant growth in shipments of its graphics processing units (GPUs).
China’s chip foundries are also benefiting from the country’s efforts to achieve semiconductor self-reliance amid thirst for local AI chips.
