is getting closer to total independence

Cambricon Technologies is an essential company in China’s plans to challenge the US for its leadership in artificial intelligence (AI). Although it is not as well known as Huawei or Moore Threads, this is one of the companies specialized in designing GPUs for AI with greater growth potential. In fact, in August 2025 received approval of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (China) to raise $560 million for the design of four chips for training and inference of AI models, and also for the development of an alternative to CUDAfrom NVIDIA.

Cambricon has notified, according to SCMPto the Shanghai Stock Exchange, which during the fiscal year 2025 has had a net profit of 2,060 million yuan (approximately 257 million euros). In the context of companies whose business is based on semiconductors and AI, it may seem like little money, but it is not if we keep in mind that it was founded just a decade ago, and also that it went public in 2020. In 2025 its income has increased by 450% compared to what it reached in 2024.

Be that as it may Cambricon Technologies It is not China’s only great asset to deal with the US in the domain of semiconductors for AI applications. Moore Threads and MetaX Integrated Circuits They have also made known just four days ago an exceptional economic performance that has been driven by the growing demand for Chinese semiconductors in a context in which the Beijing Government seeks to achieve technological self-sufficiency.

What China currently has and does not have

The chain that supports the manufacturing of semiconductors for AI applications is complex, but China controls most of its links. On the one hand it produces approximately 70% of rare earths that are distributed on the world market, and, what is even more important, it controls 90% of the processing industry to which rare earths must be subjected so that they can be used. Furthermore, it refines nothing less than 99% of heavy rare earths of the planet.

The rare earth They have a leading role in the trade, technological and geostrategic war between the US and China. These chemical elements are relatively rare, and, furthermore, they are not usually found in pure form in nature, but what makes them so special are its physicochemical properties. In fact, thanks to them they have established themselves as a very valuable resource in numerous industries, especially in electronics and renewable energy.

If we stick to the design of GPUs for AI, several Chinese companies are already producing competitive chips. Currently the flagship products that Cambricon has to compete with NVIDIA and Huawei in the Chinese market are the MLU series (Machine Learning Unit) and Siyuan. Moore Threads, on the other hand, has developed several GPUs for AI applications that, on paper, rival some of the advanced solutions that NVIDIA, AMD or Huawei have put on the market. The MTT S4000 and MTT S3000 cards are their most interesting proposals right now.

The other indispensable player in the Chinese AI chip industry is Huawei. And their GPUs Ascend 910D and Ascend 920 They are receiving support from some of the Chinese companies that are developing AI models. In this context, the biggest challenge facing China is to develop its own cutting-edge semiconductor manufacturing technology. Or he will lose his fight for world supremacy with the US. Without 100% Chinese advanced chips, its military capacity, the development of its AI models and the competitiveness of its technology companies will suffer in the medium term.

Huawei and SMIC are making advanced integrated circuits, but they use machines from the Dutch company ASML and a technology known as multiple patterning that compromises its competitiveness. This scenario has caused the Chinese Government support with very juicy subsidies to companies that have the capacity to develop cutting-edge photolithography equipment, such as YesCarrierShanghai Yuliangsheng, Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment (SMEE), Huawei or SMIC. Time plays against this Asian country.

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