Cambricon posts 108% surge in first-half revenue amid China’s massive AI chip drive

Cambricon Technologies, a leading Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) chip manufacturer, announced a staggering 108% surge in first-half revenue for the year, driven by a massive Chinese push to replace foreign AI hardware. The company reported revenue of 6 billion yuan (US$890 million) for the first six months of the year, with profits jumping 122.6% year-on-year to 2.3 billion yuan.

In the second quarter, the firm's revenue reached 3.1 billion yuan, matching the consensus estimate of 3 billion yuan. The earnings growth is attributed to increased demand for AI computing power and the company's focus on strengthening partnerships with leading enterprises in finance and internet sectors. The surge in revenue underscores the broader boom in China's AI chip sector, fueled by Beijing's tech self-sufficiency drive and a massive AI infrastructure buildout across the nation.

With US export controls limiting China's access to advanced AI accelerators like those from Nvidia, domestic chip designers are rushing to fill the market gap. Cambricon's Shanghai-listed stock saw a 2.7% rise to nearly 1,200 yuan ahead of the earnings release. The company aims to generate over 100 billion yuan in revenue over the next three years, nearly 20 times its previous target.

The momentum from Cambricon is also benefiting other domestic AI chip companies, with Beijing-based Moore Threads forecasting a 149% year-on-year revenue increase to 1.75 billion yuan and Hygon Information Technology projecting a 70% year-on-year rise to 9.3 billion yuan. However, analysts warn that Cambricon will likely face intensified competition as peers launch new products in the second half of 2026, testing the company's performance and price-to-performance positioning.