China's Cambricon and MetaX revenue surges on domestic AI chip demand

Chinese AI chip makers Cambricon and MetaX reported significant revenue increases in the first quarter of 2025, driven by strong domestic demand for local alternatives to Nvidia GPUs amid US export restrictions. Cambricon's revenue jumped 160% year-on-year to 2.89 billion yuan ($423 million), with profit soaring 185% to 1 billion yuan. The Beijing-based, Shanghai-listed company, sometimes called 'little Nvidia,' attributed growth to a 'sustained surge in the AI industry's computing power demand.' It plans a cash dividend of 15 yuan per 10 shares, totaling over 632 million yuan, after swinging to a net profit of 2 billion yuan in 2024 following years of losses. MetaX, founded in 2020 by former AMD engineers, cited significant growth in GPU shipments as the reason for its revenue increase. China's chip foundries also benefit from the country's push for semiconductor self-reliance.