Chinese Nvidia alternatives project massive sales as AI chip demand surges

Chinese chip designers Moore Threads Technology and Hygon Information Technology – both positioning themselves as home-grown alternatives to Nvidia – have projected double- to triple-digit revenue growth for the first half of the year, fuelled by surging domestic demand for AI computing power. Beijing-based Moore Threads, a graphics processing unit (GPU) developer, stated in a stock exchange filing on Thursday that it expected revenue for the period to jump 135.1 per cent to 149.4 per cent year on year, reaching between 1.65 billion yuan (US$243.5 million) and 1.75 billion yuan. Similarly, Hygon Information Technology, which designs central processing units (CPUs) and deep computing units – a type of accelerator card designed specifically for AI – projected first-half revenue growth of 55.6 per cent to 70.2 per cent, reaching between 8.5 billion yuan and 9.3 billion yuan. The forecasts underscore strong domestic appetite for computing infrastructure amid a global race for dominance in artificial intelligence. Moore Threads, which went public in December on Shanghai’s Star Market, officially known as the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, attributed the revenue surge to robust demand for its full-function GPUs and the rapid commercial roll-out of its Kua’e AI computing clusters. The company also said that its flagship GPU, MTT S5000, had achieved market-leading performance. Moore Threads stated the chip was now in mass production and asserted that its computing efficiency matched top international alternatives. Hygon attributed its projected growth to broader tech trends, citing “the accelerated iteration of large AI models, the large-scale application of AI agents and the progress of localisation towards commercial application”. This had allowed the company to seize new opportunities and expand its high-end processor products, it added. Shares of Hygon dropped 2.3 per cent to 313 yuan (US$46.19) in Shanghai on Friday morning, while Moore Threads fell 3.2 per cent to 630 yuan, amid a broader retreat of domestic AI chip stocks. As Washington’s export controls restrict Nvidia from shipping its most advanced hardware to China, home-grown players are aggressively racing to fill the void. Amid a global supply crunch driven by soaring AI demand, major Chinese cloud service providers have increasingly turned to domestic chip designers. The shift has boosted a group of home-grown players positioning themselves as secondary alternatives to national champions like Huawei Technologies and Cambricon Technologies. Alongside Moore Threads and Hygon, firms such as Biren Technology, MetaX Integrated Circuits, Iluvatar CoreX and Enflame Technology have gained significant traction. Industry analysts expect Hygon to see further expansion as AI data centres fuel demand. Hygon is “the key China beneficiary for the CPU renaissance”, brokerage firm Bernstein said in a recent research note.